Eyes On Fire
by im-rite-here
Summary: It all started with a purposely failed psyche exam... ItaSaku. Non-massacre.
1. Prologue

Chapter 1 - Prologue

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><p><em>A secret door, a door undiscovered <em>

_You knock so gently in case you're heard_

- Snow Patrol "The Symphony"

* * *

><p>"You want to what!"<p>

She freaked out. Sakura warned her best friend not to freak out and specifically to keep her voice down. Ino screeched loud enough for several people in the little teashop to halt their quiet conversations and stare at the young, blond kunoichi's sudden outburst. Sakura resisted the urge to roll her eyes. How could she think Ino was not going to panic. She herself was still mentally panicking.

"Keep your voice down pig," Sakura hushed as she sent an apologetic smile at the other customers who showed mixed signs of apprehension and concern.

Ino's eyes were still wide and her jaw slightly agape as it took several more moments for her to recover. She leaned back in her seat as tried to think what was possibly going through Sakura's head.

"No. Absolutely not," Ino answered sternly as she crossed her arms across her chest and closed her eyes and took a deep breath in hopes to keep another outburst in check. "Are you crazy forehead? Do you even know what you're asking me to do? Not only is it highly frowned upon and illegal, but also unethical. I don't even have authority to conduct such evaluations. Ugh forehead, where do you even come up with these kinds of crazy things?"

Sakura looked almost insulted. "These _crazy_ things? Pig, you are the one who usually comes up with crazy things." Sakura pointed accusingly at the blond before crossing her arms, mirroring Ino's posture, and slightly sticking her nose in the air. "Besides, I'm calling in a favor."

"A favor?! Kami, you have officially lost it," Ino muttered.

During her lunch break, Sakura came to pick Ino up from Konoha's Torture and Interrogation Division building to treat Ino to some tea from a new tea shop that opened up near the hospital. Ino was elated at first when Sakura pulled Ino out of the '_dungeon_', a lighthearted nickname by Konoha nin for the interrogation offices, and said the tea was on her. Both girls had been so busy, Sakura in the hospital and out on secret ANBU missions that Sakura tried to deny but Ino knew anyways and Ino under strict apprenticeship with Ibiki Morino or training sessions with her father. But Ino instantly grew suspicious of Sakura's treat as Sakura had not fallen prey to their usual banter.

"Ino, I really need your help. If you saw him today, you would have never even realized it was him. He looks awful," Sakura uncrossed her arms and looked at Ino hard, ignoring Ino's '_as if_' comment under her breath. "He's being sent on back to back missions and his health is slowly deteriorating. His body can't continue operating under this much stress and he's too much of a devoted shinobi to ask for some time off."

Ino sighed. Sakura was too caring. She eyed her pink hair friend before concluding that Sakura's altruistic nature was going to kill her someday. Ino knew Sakura had his best intentions in mind but what Sakura was suggesting was absolutely insane. If they were caught, or really just Ino since she would be the one to perform the evaluation, they would be in serious trouble, even though Ino knew if worse came to worse, Sakura would take responsibility for their actions. Ino eyed her best friend once more. Sakura was completely determined on her sudden fixation of the Uchiha's health.

"Say, since when do you care so much about the Prince of Darkness's health?" Ino suddenly smirked and raised a suggestive eyebrow. "Are you not telling me something?"

Sakura's cheeks tinted a light shade of pink. "No."

Ino laughed at Sakura's obvious discomfort which only encouraged Ino more. "He is very good looking, the hot older brother. I've seen him train a few times, all hot and sweaty, but I'm sure you have too with all those missions and training sessions. I bet you my next monthly allowance that his fan-girls secretly auction shirtless pictures of him in the black market. No wonder you're so concerned about his health. He probably can't keep up if his '_body is under so much stress_'. You know what I think–"

"Pig!"

"–I think you want him to stay in the village so you both can continue your escapades behind–"

"Ino!" Sakura yelled, this time Sakura gaining curious onlookers. "So are you going to help me or not Ino-pig?"

Ino sighed obviously satisfied at Sakura's reaction to her gentle teasing. Channeling her inner Shikamaru, hoping to pass this task to somebody else, Ino groaned, "Why can't you ask somebody else?"

"Because I don't trust anyone else from Interrogation to do this."

"Fine," Ino conceded and she shook her head in dismay, "let go fail Itachi's psych evaluation. And then, lets go spend a few nights in jail, where we can have his people terrorize us."

* * *

><p><em>Three hours earlier<em>

Sakura sighed. She did not know what she hated more – Tsunade sending her to diplomatic medical missions to particularly difficult patrons or Tsunade leaving her in charge of the hospital to go on diplomatic medical missions when there was a surplus of patients in the hospital.

Sakura was running on her second consecutive shift with no breaks. The hospital was packed with chunin shinobi who were here for their bi-annual physical examinations.

When Tsunade returned to Konoha several years ago from her travels, she amended and updated hospital policies, protocol, and procedures as well as modernize health regulations of Konoha's citizens. The hospital '_hasn't changed since my grandfather's time_' Tsunade blatantly stated when first inspecting the 'world-class' medical center. Tsunade had ordered for more money to be allocated towards hospital funds and created the first every official Konoha Medical School. She believed that strong nations had strong medics, both shinobi and non-shinobi, and Konoha was severely lacking the former.

Tsunade strictly passed down this belief to Shizune and Sakura. One of these changes included bi-annual physical examinations of all Konoha shinobi. Genin and chunin had bi-annual check-ups and jounin had at least tri-annuals. ANBU were subjected to as much as monthly check-ups or one after the completion of a mission.

Sakura fully supported these check-ups but they were a long and tedious requirement for the medics who had to carry out these examinations. It was true; shinobis were the worst patients, which included a quick fifteen minutes check-up. Kakashi-sensei was a perfect example. Sakura sighed again. It had been a long day. Pulling two fifteen-hour shifts was not the best decision on her part but with Tsunade and Shizune gone, Sakura had no choice but to log in extra hours to help out with physicals and regular patient check-ups as well as any scheduled and unscheduled surgeries.

Sakura gave a tired smile at the nurse who quickly greeted her before continuing her way to her office. Making her way into her quiet workplace, Sakura gently closed the door behind her and leaned against her door. Exhaustion finally took its toll. Her shoulders fell downwards and realized she was quite low on chakra. She could see Tsunade's image in her head giving her a smug smile and another tough love lecture.

When she got home, she was going to take a long shower. A long _hot_ shower. And then she was going to sleep for a whole day and if someone came and disturbed her slumber, she would punch them all the way to Suna. Just the thoughts of her bed made Sakura sigh in relieve. Sakura paused before she took another step. She was staring into a deep gash emanating an unhealthy amount of blood.

An ANBU was leaning against her desk. Sakura almost smacked her forehead and internally berated herself. She walked into her office and leaned against the door for what seemed like hours just pondering about her evil sensei to her exhaustion to her magnificent bed and not once did she notice the bleeding shinobi in front of her. Calculating vigilance replaced fatigue in her eyes as Sakura walked towards the ANBU with green healing chakra encircling her hands.

She helped the ANBU stand and motioned her head to the private room equipped with everything found in the OR to a regular hospital room that connected to her office. It was Tsunade's idea that private offices of senior medics should have a private room furnished with everything from heart monitors to extra supplies of IV bags in cases of emergencies. It was a brilliant idea Sakura concluded. Due to her prominent medic-nin status, she was always treating high ranking officials to confidential ANBU nin. Sakura pushed chakra through her hands into the doorknob. Only a certain pattern achieved through high chakra could open the door.

"Sit and take of your vest and shirt," Sakura ordered. The ANBU promptly listened and discarded his upper articles of clothing as well as the mask that hid his identity. "You are unbelievable Uchiha! I just healed you last week."

Green chakra spilled into the ugly gash. "It was a mission," a smooth tenor swiftly countered sending uncalled goose bumps down Sakura's arms.

It was always a mission. Mission after mission after another mission. It was a sick cycle carousel of healing and getting injured. "Well it's going to be me next," Sakura muttered to herself, not noticing the small smirk that played on the Uchiha's mouth after her witty response.

Sakura quickly sent chakra throughout his body, scanning and evaluating the rest of his injuries before concluding that the gash was the most life threatening. Three ribs were broken; they could be healed last, as healing ribs was the least tedious. He was suffering from chakra exhaustion but that could only be replenished through rest. There was a rather nasty cut on his by his naval but that could wait. It seemed like weapon that produced the gash was poisoned. Great Sakura bitterly thought as she waved off her bed for another few hours.

"You were poisoned."

"Ah."

A vein popped on Sakura's forehead. She was _thisclose_ to unleashing Tsunade infamous temper on the ANBU captain, all formalities thrown in the shadows.

"With all due respect, Taichou, '_ah_' is not the appropriate response in this scenario. The toxin you were poisoned with has been rapidly spreading throughout your body, four times the average speed, meaning it has already reached your vital organs, specially speaking your lungs and heart," Sakura eyed his heavy breathing and felt the abnormal speed of his heartbeat before continuing, "and because your body was already under an unhealthy amount of stress from your last mission, which, if I remember correctly, was only ten days ago, and since you did not give your body sufficient time to recuperate, the poison has been spreading even faster. Meaning, it will take much longer for you to convalesce from your current injuries."

Sakura felt his glare directed at her and decided to bite her tongue from continuing her rant of his medical condition before he torched her with Amaterasu to shut her up. She knew it was somehow imprudent of her to be lecturing her ANBU captain or any superior in such a tone but Sakura could not take anymore of his negligence to his health.

Sakura relaxed her tense muscles, knowing that extracting the poison was going to take at least another hour or two. Sakura huffed as her thoughts wandered. Nins trained in both shinobi arts and medical jutsu were rare, that many chunin medical nin were able to go on A or B ranked missions on a jounin squad and many jounin medical nin were qualified for and sent on ANBU missions.

It was Tsunade who first suggested that she start going on ANBU missions to further improve her training. Sakura waved off Tsunade's suggestion since Tsunade had a little more than normal amounts of sake that night. It was only the morning after when Sakura was requested to join the infamous ANBU team eleven led by Uchiha Itachi that she realized that Tsunade was not suggesting but stating. That was almost two years ago. Her very first ANBU mission was actually on her eighteenth birthday.

She was completely thrilled and apprehensive that she was requested not only to be part of an ANBU team but also to be part of arguably Konoha's formidable ANBU team ever. As flattered and honored as she was at first, Sakura didn't realize how much extra weight was put on her shoulders. She had trainings with Tsunade, with team seven, and now with Itachi's team, as he wanted each team member familiar with each others fighting styles and techniques.

Working under and alongside Itachi was a whole new level of learning. He was extremely talented and efficient in almost everything he did. He lived up to his reputation and even exceeded it. Although it was physically demanding at first, Sakura grew to enjoy her time with team eleven.

It was completely different compared to working with team seven. Whereas she felt protected almost in an insulting manner of their doubt in her skills with team seven, she felt free yet responsible with team eleven. Whereas team seven eagerly hungered for difficult missions, team eleven was only given and expected to complete missions no questions asked. They were the epitome of antithetical teams. Missions with team seven were comforting and habitual. It was like going on a camping trip. Naruto and Sasuke always bickered and Sakura always had to scold them and remind them that they were on a mission. Kakashi almost never interfered and just smiled at his team's childish antics as he would innocently read his porn. Missions with team eleven, however, always started out with a small wave of apprehension and adrenaline and no porn '_novels_'. Their missions were always completed in a logical and orderly fashion. Although their missions were more difficult, Sakura almost never found herself having to heal any serious wounds of the members, whereas if Naruto came out with less then five mortal wounds it would be considered the mission went exceptionally well.

"I have a mission in two days."

He just had to speak. That was the last straw. Her vein bursted. "Absolutely not! It will take me at least two days to find an antidote to this poison," Sakura yelled, "As your doctor I do not permit you to go on any mission for at least another two weeks."

"That is unacceptable."

"Unacceptable!? You are unacceptable," Sakura childishly countered, exhaustion and lack of sleep tempering with her normal, rational self, "You dying of exhaustion is unacceptable!"

That seemed to quiet Itachi. She could feel his gaze burning a hole on her face but chose to ignore it and focus on the almost healed gash. **_Unacceptable my ass! It'll be unacceptable when I accidentally fall in your bed in just a skimpy pair of–_**

"Shut up," Sakura unintentionally muttered out loud to her inner gaining a curious raised eyebrow from her captain. Knowing her cheeks were turning pink quickly Sakura refused to let the Uchiha come on top in this unspoken battle and hastily rebutted, "I know you're thinking of going on this mission and I'm just trying to shut your train of thoughts."

**_Wow, what a lame response. Now he's looking at us like we're crazy. Good job Sakura. Now he's not going to let us fall into his–_**

Sakura groaned out loud. Her inner was another Ino. Sakura almost laughed out like a lunatic when she first realized she was she was walking around with another pig in her head. She knew by now Itachi probably thought she was crazy, why hide it. He was the one who kept requesting her for dangerous missions; she might as well act crazy in spite of him.

**_Good, just focus on his beautiful chest and abdomen. Breathe Sakura, breathe._**

Sakura let out the breath she did not know she was holding. His chest and abdomen were not that great – he only had immaculate abs that were perfectly firm under his smooth skin and the V-shape his–

**_Iliac furrow, tsk, tsk Sakura, condemning yourself to crude idioms._**

Sakura realized she was grimacing and resolved that there was no hope left of proving her sanity to Itachi. Instead of mulling over her mental health and Itachi Sakura shifted all her attention to the healed gash. She started healing his broken ribs and the cut on his naval as well as small bruises over his chest and arms.

"I would say you have to stay overnight but I know you won't listen," Sakura glared at the Uchiha, "go home and rest," she put extra emphasize on rest, "and I'm requiring you two weeks worth of leave of absence from missions and training." Sakura was quite proud how professional her voice sounded. She walked out the room into her office to grab Itachi's file, Itachi always came to her as a medic as Sakura decided for the sake of convenience she had Itachi's files stored in her office.

"That is not happening."

Sakura shoulders tensed as she quickly turned around and pointed an accusing finger at Itachi who had followed her out into her office. "You are delusional if you think I'm going to let you prance around on missions knowing how detrimental it will be to your health."

Sakura ignored Itachi flinched and almost looked insulted at her word choice. "I do not prance around on missions."

If she accidentally strangled Itachi would she be called the next prodigy or charged with treason and thrown in jail. Sakura stopped her train of dark thoughts to respond but Itachi cut her of before she could refute him. "I will be going on my next mission which you are also assigned," Sakura opened her mouth but was again cut off by Itachi smooth tenor as he eyed her appearance, "I suggest you get some rest Haruno."

That was it. End of conversation. Itachi put on his ripped shirt as Sakura tried really hard to ignore his flexing muscles. Did he just inwardly call her appearance unpleasant? She may look a little disheveled and there was no doubt dark circles under her eyes and her stomach probably growled a few thousands times but he had no right to suggest her unsightly appearance. It was rude to poke at females' looks. A small voice in her knew that Itachi meant well and was just looking out for her health as she was looking out for his but the lack of chakra and food and sleep augmented her sour attitude. Sakura glared at Itachi retreating back as he made his way to her window. She grimly thought what his reaction would be if she threw his file at his back.

"You can't go on that mission."

Itachi stopped and turned to face the pink haired medic. His eyes glowed with amusement, which only served to darken Sakura's mood more. "Oh really?"

He was challenging her. Sakura wanted to pull her hair out. He was challenging her and he was enjoying it. What a prick. He should be the Prince of Hilarity instead of Prince of Darkness, Sakura thought. Well she could be just as smug. Pushing her embitterment in a dark corner of her conscious and garnering all the decorum she had left, Sakura swiftly challenged back, "According to your file, you are long overdue of a psychological examination."

All the amusement in Itachi exuded from his eyes and Sakura resisted the very strong urge to smirk. She knew he was following her train of thought. "As the medical examiner in charge of your overall well being," _and your very concerned teammate_, Sakura surly thought but did not add, "I am scheduling you for a psych exam later today at four in the afternoon. I will contact Inoichi-san to schedule an appointment."

Itachi was openly scowling at her but Sakura swiftly turn to door and opened it. "I suggest you get some rest before the exam, Taichou." The door loudly slammed behind her as Itachi was left alone in her office, not entirely sure what just played out.

* * *

><p><em>Present time<em>

Sakura knew that she would have to kiss her steamy shower and snug bed goodbye at least for the rest of the day. She had foolishly challenged her captain's mental stability in front of his face. She had just stated that Konoha's golden boy, prodigy, and model citizen's rational cognitive abilities as unreliable. There was nothing psychologically wrong with Itachi. She knew that, he knew that. He was only guilty of over exerting himself, but she vowed to not back down. If he was not going to fight for his health, she would do it for him even if that meant breaking a few rules here and there to get him the long deserved break. Plus, she was far too stubborn to back down. She dug herself into a hole an refused to climb back up.

Now she pulled Ino into her mess of a hole. Ino would not back down either if she were in my shoes, Sakura rationalized. The two best friends were presently scheming to purposely fail Itachi's psych exam.

"Are you sure this will knock him out?"

"Positive."

"Forehead, if he wakes up and figures out what we're doing we might as well kiss ourselves goodbye."

"You're wasting time pig!"

"Ok geez, stop stressing out, it's not like we're purposely committing multiple illicit activities by impersonating a Konoha official and failing _the_ Uchiha Itachi's psych exam," Ino dryly stated. Sakura threw Ino a dirty look as Ino threw her hands in the air, "Ok, ok. Stop getting so pansy forehead. I'm going."

"Do you remember what you have to do?"

"Yes mom. Now shoo, here comes Otousan."

Ino roughly pushed Sakura into the nearest bush before skipping towards her father. "Daddy!," Ino greeted and enveloped him in a hug as she gave him a semi-devious, semi-sweetened smile.

"What that Sakura I just saw?" Inoichi questioned.

"Oh no, Sakura's in the hospital working like always. I swear, forehead is married to the OR room and had suction tubes as her bridesmaids at her wedding. Were you just heading home," Ino asked as she hasty continued to speak not giving her father a chance to respond, "Me too. Hinata just taught me how to make this herbal tea and it tastes absolutely divine. Do you want some? Ok perfect, let's go."

Sakura glowered at Ino's retreating back. That pig. Sakura sighed as she pulled a twig out her hair. Ino was helping her, what more could she ask for?

The first part of the plan was for Ino to drop a sedative, made exclusively by Sakura, in Inoichi's tea that would knock him unconscious and erase his most recent memories. Ino would then use her clan's Mind Body Switch Technique to control her father's body. Inoichi Yamanaka worked in the Torture and Interrogations Division. He and Ibiki Morino worked alongside each other. The two were the only ones permitted to perform psychological evaluations on ANBU members.

As soon as Ino performed her clan's distinctive technique, Sakura would then take Ino's body and move it to her house as a safety precaution. Ino, in Inoichi's body, would then go to the dungeon and administer (and fail) Itachi's psych evaluation. The plan was flawless. Hopefully.

Sakura knew what she was doing was wrong on so many levels. She could only see the disappointed looks of Kakashi-sensei and Tsunade-shishou. Heck if she looked in a mirror she would see a half disappointed half determined face staring back at her. The right thing was to let Itachi make his own decisions. He was fully capably and definitely not mentally unstable. But Sakura could not help but to want to help him.

After going on numerous missions with him and seeing him interact with his family on occasional events she noticed he was the most selfless being she ever met. His loyalty to Konoha rivaled Naruto's loyalty to the village and fellow comrades. It was quite pitiful, actually, the village he loved and protected with his life continuously exploited his loyalty. Sakura humorlessly laughed to herself. On a dark note, the village exploited every one of its shinobi's loyalties. But Sakura had people fighting for her. Even though Tsunade trained her to the brink of her chakra and pushed her past her limits, Tsunade never exploited Sakura's devotion to her. Even Kakashi had helped her avoid missions with team eleven when he knew Sakura suffered from fatigue. Who did that for Itachi?

Team eleven had been sent on four S-ranked mission so far this month, and the month was barely half way over. Sakura had accompanied the team on two of those missions and she was still fighting off exhaustion from those missions. Itachi was also under pressure from clan politics, as Sasuke would briskly mention '_stressful clan meetings_'. Sakura was not part of a clan but she understood that traditional clan policies were time-consuming and difficult, especially if you were the clan heir, after all the stories Hinata would share.

Maybe she was too sympathetic. Sakura internally smiled at herself. Her sympathy for Itachi was the key force leading her to commit felonious activities. Seeing those deep circles under Itachi's eyes disappear would be satisfying enough and well worth the trouble. Sakura felt a spike of Inoichi's chakra, the signal that Ino had completed the mind body transfer.

Down the road Shikamaru was peacefully walking down the street, hands in his pockets, enjoying the abnormal quietness of Konoha's late afternoon. He had cloud watched this morning and spent his early afternoon with his father in the Intelligence Department, which was troublesome especially since his father sent him to work with the cryptanalysis team for the day. This meant he would not have the comfort of having frequent breaks his father allowed at Intelligence and sat through Shiho's subtle flirting. Shikamaru sighed. He thought of telling Ino about the girl's innocent remarks and obvious admiration, but Ino would most likely devise some ulterior scheme that would be too troublesome to stop. Girls were troublesome.

Shikamaru saw a tall man with long blonde hair tied up in a ponytail walking his way. Just as he was about to greet Ino's Otousan, Inoichi interrupted the lazy Nara shinobi, "Gomennasai Shika-kun, I'm running an errand right now, I'll see you later tonight."

To say Shikamaru was shocked was an understatement. Inoichi just walked past him with a smile like everything was right in the world. What was happening later tonight with Ino's Otousan?

Troublesome. Maybe he should go back to the Intelligence Department and hide out there. Shikamaru continued his path down the street until he saw a flash of pink pop out of a bush. He instantly recognized Sakura and debated if it was worth engaging a conversation with the fellow kunoichi. As Sakura jumped onto a building and started hopping away, he noticed that Sakura was supporting Ino's unconscious body on her back.

He sighed once more deciding not to ponder too much on the scene for he knew it would only lead him to more trouble. Shikamaru continued walking, planning not to involve himself in the two wicked, she-devils' shenanigans. It was the safer and more reasonable option.

What a drag, Shikamaru thought. He was probably going to be hauled into it sooner or later. Well until then, he was going enjoy his unpolluted mind towards their scheming and go cloud watching until the sun set.

* * *

><p>To say that Itachi was surprised would be an understatement. His jaw would be hanging open if he were anyone else. So he contained his bewilderment and bowed down to the hokage who was juggling a myriad of paperwork and silently left the office. The hokage did not even show an ounce of shock that was running through Itachi. He merely called Itachi to inform the Uchiha that he had not passed his psychological evaluation and would be given a three weeks worth of vacation. When Itachi tried to ask him about the coming mission, the Sandaime briskly waved him away and told him to go enjoy the time off.<p>

He failed his psychological evaluation.

He _failed_ his psychological evaluation.

Itachi never failed his psychological evaluations. He had never failed anything before.

This whole ordeal reeked with dubious ambience. The Sandaime had not radiated any indications of doubt or choler that one of his best shinobi just failed a psychological evaluation. It was actually quite common for ANBU to fail the evaluation a few times throughout their career but it was a matter that was not taken lightly. Many shinobi, especially jounin and higher, would be assigned at least a four week leave of absence from duty if they failed the assessment and would be required to take longer absences if continuously failed the evaluations. Most would be assigned mandatory counseling sessions congruently with the time off. Itachi just receive a little slap on the hand for a rather serious matter.

The evaluation itself seemed off somehow, Itachi mused. Inoichi Yamanaka always performed Itachi's evaluation. Itachi wholly rememorized the characteristic obtrusive presence in his mind whenever Yamanaka performed the assessment. He always felt thoroughly exposed and analyzed. Yamanaka knew that having one's mind paraded was not the most pleasant feeling and would swiftly finish without any delay. Earlier today, it felt different. Instead of rapid coverage, the intruding psyche slowly lingered in one spot in Itachi's mind and Itachi did not feel his usual exposed self after the examination.

Itachi decided to leisurely walk home instead of jumping swiftly through rooftops. The coolness of the night hit Itachi's face as summer was coming to a quick end. Konoha looked breathtakingly beautiful during the nighttime. Lanterns illuminated the streets as well as light from select few shops, restaurants, and cafes that were open late. The streets were barren of running children and local citizens, adding an eerie silence to the usual noisy atmosphere. Itachi found it peaceful on these rare moments when he took late night walks.

After reporting to the Sandaime following the completion of his mission, he had gone straight to Sakura's office. He was surprised that she looked almost as crummy as he did, except she was not bleeding. The dark circles around her eyes indicated lack of sleep and the chakra depletion indicated the long hours she logged at the hospital.

Her facial expression went from concerned to anger back to concern then back to evident irritation. From prior experience, Itachi knew Sakura had little patience and grew quite cantankerous when she was fighting off exhaustion, a trait that he secretly found entertaining in his usual solemn lifestyle. Somehow, his signature locution had rattled her and sent her on a rant he truthfully only half listened too. It was too amusing seeing her angry.

Sakura was always civil and polite, unless she was knocking some sense into his foolish younger brother and loud blonde teammate. She displayed her enviable intelligence on numerous accounts and demonstrated her shinobi and medical expertise on missions. He watched her kunoichi career grow from a hopeless genin to a formidable medic-nin. There was some inner pride in him knowing that he contributed to that growth.

But today, Sakura had more spine than he originally credited her. She had launched a never-ending tirade and even mocked his status right at his face. Over the nearly two years she joined team eleven Sakura always respected his position as her captain. Throughout that time, he went from Taichou to Uchiha-san to Itachi-san to even Itachi occasionally. His Okasan even berated him once for not allowing dear Sakura to call him by his first name especially since Sakura was like family. Truthfully, Itachi did not mind if Sakura called him by his first name. She was a constant presence in his life, but he knew the kunoichi felt uncomfortable calling him by his first name so he never pushed her to.

But it was when he mentioned his next mission when she completely flipped. He almost wondered if she was going to stop healing him and let him bleed out to death to refrain him from going on the mission. Itachi scrunched his brows in light vexation and dubiety. She was clearly mad at him, yet she wore a pained expression on her face. That only made him wonder more. Her expression quickly radiated smugness when she declared he '_pranced around_' on mission. A part of Itachi was insulted while the other concluded Sakura was just throwing her frustrations on him. He did not prance on missions. She knew that. She accompanied his team on half of their missions.

Then, when he refused to take medical leave, she declared him mentally incompetent and quickly scheduled a long overdue psychological evaluation. She threatened his mental status. Itachi had never felt such a strong wave of astonishment before. She so cleverly used not only his delayed psychological evaluation, but also his words against him and promptly stomped out the door, letting her hair flip in a diva-ish manner. It was quite hypocritical of her, Itachi concluded. He was merely serving his village, even if that meant putting his health at risk, as Sakura was doing the same. He knew she was probably ending her second shift at the hospital from judging her appearance. He almost wanted to challenge her mental health and force her to undergo a psychological evaluation, but bit his tongue knowing very well she probably would have attacked him if he suggested the very thought in her angry state.

Itachi's eyes narrowed suddenly as he subconsciously halted. Sakura was completely confident that he would fail the assessment even though he knew that she knew that he was sane. No, she couldn't have. She did not even have the authority. He saw Inoichi himself perform the assessment, even though it felt quite off.

Everything made sense. Sakura had somehow failed his evaluation.

Itachi almost smiled. He should be mad, a part of him was. Not only did a subordinate disregard their captain but also forged a psychological evaluation. He grimaced at how much trouble Sakura would be in if she was discovered.

He felt something warm pool inside his chest. Sakura had gone out her way, never mind her insubordinate behavior earlier, and put herself in risk to make sure he received enough recuperation time against his wishes and Konoha law. He could not remember the last time someone went out their way for him. He could not remember the last time someone broke the law for him. Itachi debated, as a member of the Konoha Police Force, if he should arrest Sakura for breaking Konoha law. He smirked at how she would react to being handcuffed and taken down to the police station.

He almost felt flattered at her actions. Itachi knew that his father and the Uchiha elders, on the other hand, would not feel as gratified as he was. They would be at furious on why their prodigy and heir had failed the assessment, and automatically blame every party involve except him, the one who had failed his assessment.

He had been avoiding remaining in Konoha for long periods of time. Itachi was not going to concede to his clan's, specifically the elders, wishes without a fight on his end. So his battle strategy was avoidance and he filled his time with mission after mission. He knew his actions were only building up more tension and he could not follow the avoidance trajectory for long, but remaining in Konoha for an excessive amount of time was unacceptable.

Sakura had unknowingly obstructed and most likely crumbled his years worth of functioning plan in just one day. Her intensions were pure and selfless, that he admired her greatly for, and Itachi knew he could not blame her on those accounts. He knew Sakura would do this for anybody; it was her nature to care for people. She was merely looking out for his health something he lacked to do. So now he would most likely have to face his clan's elders.

Now that he was to remind in Konoha for the next three weeks, he knew the Uchiha elders would jump on the opportunity to confront him on the piling issues. Itachi rubbed his brows trying to alleviate the coming headache. Maybe Sakura did him a favor. She forced him to shrink the bubble before it exploded.

In that moment, Itachi decided that he would not let Sakura's hard yet insanely illegal work go to vain.

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><p><em>Caught in this pool held in your eyes<em>

_Caught like a fool without a line_

_We're in a natural spring_

_With this gentle sting between us_

- Rhye "Open"

* * *

><p><strong>Hello dear readers, this is a new fanfic. I hope you enjoyed the quick prologue. This is a ItaSaku story set in a non-massacre AU. This idea has been bugging me for far too long and I'm glad to finally get it down on Word. I was too excited to double-check any errors or grammatical mistakes, so if there are any, please point them out and I'll try to fix them.<strong>

**So the quotes before and after the chapter are song lyrics. I listen to music while I write, it gives me inspiration. I've decided to add them in every chapter. I would love to hear your interpretations of the quotes relating to the chapters. **

**The image of this fanfic belongs to CitrusGun on ****deviantart. CitrusGun is a very talented artist, I suggest you go check out their profile. Naruto, obviously, belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.**

**Until next time.**

**Thank you so much for your support and reviews :)**


	2. Injuries

Chapter 1 - Injuries

* * *

><p><em>Oh, I'm a lose bolt of a complete machine <em>

_What a match_

_I'm half doomed, and you're semi-sweet_

- Fall Out Boy "Disloyal Order of Water Buffaloes"

* * *

><p>"Itachi's been brooding more."<p>

Naruto snickered. "Like your brother can get any more grim. He's an Uchiha."

"Don't insult my clan dobe."

"Whatever teme."

Sasuke almost rolled his eyes at his blond teammate. Sakura always pestered him to be more open and talk about his feeling instead of bottling everything inside. Now that he tried to talk, Naruto cut him off with another moronic statement that insulted his clan.

Team seven spent the morning training together on their usual training grounds. It was a three-way spar between them, since Kakashi completely failed to show up this time around. Sasuke would be lying if he said he did not miss Sakura's fiery punches. She was always either cooped in the hospital or on missions with his Onii's team. Sakura always smirked and teased that they should have decided to become medic-nin instead of brute shinobis if they wanted a quick entry into ANBU.

Sasuke was thoroughly exhausted. The spar was a free for all, except Naruto could not use his senjutsu, Sasuke his Sharingan, and Sakura her medical chakra as a weaponry tool. After training with only Kakashi and Naruto for so long, Sasuke almost forgot that Sakura had suddenly become a capable kunoichi and he rather enjoyed sparring her. She was highly intelligent and used her wit and genjutsu expertise as tactical devices in their match. Without his Sharingan, Sasuke barely realized he was caught in her genjutsu until the last minute. He knew she was training with his Onii and he was most likely sharpening her genjutsu skills. Sasuke almost grumbled at the unfairness; Itachi was his brother, he should be training him instead of Sakura.

The three finally decided to stop sparring, as it was a complete standstill, and laid down on the grass to cool off. Sasuke snuck a glance at his female teammate, whose eyes were closed, as she was trying to relax, but her shoulders tense. He wondered if Sakura knew anything about Itachi's recent behavior. Sakura accompanied his brother on many missions; as she spent equal if not more time on missions with team eleven than team seven, a fact Sasuke never would feel comfortable with. She was also Itachi's medic-to-go. Sasuke knew that Sakura, Tsunade, or Shizune were the only ones permitted to heal Itachi, ordered by the clan elders, and only those three along with the elders and his family had access to Itachi's confidential health records.

Sasuke knew Itachi failed a psychological evaluation a few days ago after returning from a mission. Sasuke almost choked on his rice ball at the dinner table when Itachi had stated he failed the assessment and would be required to remain in the village for three weeks. Their Okasan looked concerned as their Otousan looked certainly displeased, but quickly mentioned Itachi was now free to attend the coming clan meeting. Itachi hated those meetings as much as he hated their Okasan's scolding. Itachi's distaste of those meetings were so apparent that after a while Itachi lost the courtesy to seek out the elder to find out what had conversed in those meetings. Sasuke himself hated those meetings. He felt sorry that his Onii was usually the topic of discussion.

If he were in Itachi's shoes, he would be going on back-to-back missions too, no matter how exhausting that it may have been. But his Onii failed a psychological exam. Sasuke could not remember the last time his brother failed anything. Surely, Sakura would know the exact details regarding the issue, as the psychological evaluator and medical examiner both had to concur to finalize a shinobi's state of mind.

But did Sakura really sign off for Itachi's psychological exam. No wonder Itachi was moping more than usual. His subordinate basically signed off him as mentally unstable. It must be awkward, Sasuke concluded. There was a part of him that was not thoroughly convinced Sakura would do such a thing. What would compel her? Sasuke closed his eyes and pondered for a few minutes before it hit him. Sakura was a healer and Itachi was stubborn. Judging from the rare moments Itachi was home, Itachi was always exhausted. If Sasuke noticed this, surely Sakura had. She probably told him to take a break from missions and Itachi probably refused. Sasuke snorted. How many times would he have to tell Itachi never to refuse Sakura, as she always got what she wanted. Sasuke knew that Itachi definitely noticed Sakura boss him and Naruto around on multiple occasions.

Sasuke had to ask Sakura if this was true, but she would never disclose Itachi's health records, as it went against doctor-patient confidentiality and many other rules and codes. She would be a dead end on acquiring information. But maybe it was worth a try.

"He failed a psychological evaluation."

Naruto started choking on air, and rolled around the ground overdramatically before he sat up suddenly with bewildered eyes. "What! I always knew your brother was crazy. This just proves it."

Again, a vein throbbed on Sasuke's forehead at Naruto's ridiculous comment, but kept one eye on Sakura as did not miss the way she visibly flinched. "My onii-san is not crazy."

"Maybe you should go for a psych exam teme, if you share blood with the Prince of Darkness. Kami only knows what's wrong with your head. Hey, Sakura-chan can even–"

"Shut up! Both of you!" Sakura finally spoke, clearly irritated. "Failing a psych exam isn't something to joke about."

Sakura quickly stood up, brushed her top of the invisible dirt, and started walking away. "Wait, Sakura-chan, where are you going? I thought we were going to get Ichiraku," Naruto pouted.

"Ichiraku is unhealthy. I'm going home to take a shower. Then to the hospital to actually help people," Sakura shouted over her shoulder.

Naruto continued pouting and blamed Sasuke for upsetting their Sakura-chan and making her leave. Sasuke, on the other hand, was fully convinced Sakura knew something about Itachi's psychological exam that he did not. Now, all Sasuke had to do was decide if he wanted to find out what happened or not.

And it was decided. If it concerned his Onii, Sasuke was involved. He quickly got to his feet and started heading the direction Sakura took off at.

"Oi, you're leaving too teme"

"Clan business, dobe," Sasuke smoothly replied ignoring Naruto muttering something along the lines of '_stupid clan_' under his breath. Technically, it was clan business, since Sasuke was sticking his nose into Itachi's business and Itachi was an Uchiha as well as his brother.

Sasuke headed the path down to Sakura's home. She lived in a peaceful, aesthetically traditional district of Konoha relatively popular with high-middle class civilians that was located close to the Konoha's medical center. The narrowed streets to the cobblestone ground to the lanterns that connected rooftops of opposite buildings all supported the beauty of the district. Sasuke had to admit Sakura lived in alluring neighborhood that looked twice as pretty during the nighttime.

It was easy to get lost if one did not know their way around the narrow streets. Sasuke knew the way to Sakura townhouse in his sleep. Catching a glimpse of pink, Sasuke noticed Sakura reaching her doorstep.

Sasuke approached his pink haired teammate. "Sakura."

"Oh Sasuke, what are you doing here?"

Her big, expressive, concerned-filled eyes only fostered Sasuke hypothesis. "We need to talk."

A smile covered her face. "Am I trouble, mister police officer?"

Sasuke flinched. He hated when she called him that. When he was little, all Sasuke wanted to do was work alongside his clan members at the Police Force. His teammates, however, never let him live his former dreams down. "It's about Itachi."

The teasing smile disappeared from Sakura face as she frowned at Sasuke. She opened her door as Sasuke silently followed her inside. Sasuke ditched his shoes at the doorway as Sakura walked into her kitchen. "Do you want tea, Sasuke?"

"Hn."

Sakura could not cook to save her life, but her tea was directly sent from kami. She knew Sasuke and Naruto loved when she made tea, and always kept cold, iced tea in her fridge for when she would get spontaneous visits. Sasuke walked into the kitchen and sat at one of the stools by her island. He always wondered why Sakura had a nice kitchen when tea and rice balls were the only edible food-related items she could muster.

Sakura grabbed two cups and poured tea into each as she handed Sasuke one and leaned against the counter with her arms crossed. Her face was hard and revealed nothing. "What do you want to know?"

"Did Itachi fail his psychological exam?"

Sakura took a deep breath, as Sasuke noticed she was choosing her next few words carefully. "Itachi's body is under a lot of stress. It's only a matter of time when he would collapse," Sakura explained slowly, "He doesn't take care of himself. I only took the appropriate steps of what I thought was right as his doctor."

She completely avoided the question. But it was enough for Sasuke. Sakura cared for Itachi's wellbeing and Sasuke could not be mad at her for that. Though he would never feel comfortable with her being around Itachi often, including missions and trainings, Sasuke rather have Sakura on Itachi's team than any other ANBU team. Sasuke knew Itachi would never let anything happen to her; she was his teammate and friend, and Itachi knew how much Sakura meant to Sasuke. If Sakura ever came back in less than pristine condition, Sasuke had a good enough reason to beat up Itachi. Though a part of Sasuke knew Itachi was still levels ahead of him.

Sasuke waved goodbye and headed back home.

* * *

><p>Sakura let out a satisfied moan as the warm water hit her tense shoulders. It seemed that recently she was always tense or stiff or tired. Although she had not been assigned a mission for the past two and a half weeks, Sakura was always in the hospital or training. Yesterday's spar with Naruto and Sasuke was more exhausting than normal.<p>

She had not been training with team eleven, as Itachi would always inform her on such trainings. It had almost been a week since Itachi was forced to remain in the village and not once did he come contact her for a training session. He was probably ignoring her as retribution to what she did. She leaned against her shower wall and mulled over her actions.

Her actions were completely wrong and inappropriate as well as illegal. The guilt was finally starting to hit. Itachi had every right to ignore her. If her subordinate ever challenged her mental status, Sakura was sure she would punch them into next week. How was she ever going to face him? She had played with his mental status along with inaccurate medical diagnosis that she was pretty sure Itachi had no idea she filed. When she went to the Sandaime to notify him of Itachi's medical state, the Sandaime did not believe that Konoha's best shinobi failed his psychological evaluation. Sakura was so sure her masterpiece plan collapsed and she was caught conducting felonious acts. So she came up with the most pathetic excuse to why Itachi failed his assessment and hoped the Sandaime was convinced.

Lucky for her, the hokage understood and she promptly left the hokage tower. It was more nerve wrecking than her first mission with team seven in Wave that had gone horribly wrong. Hopefully her act could be buried somewhere deep but Sakura had a gut feeling it was going to come back and bite her in the behind.

Tsunade, on the other hand, after returning and finding out about the Uchiha heir's medical ailment only raised a knowing eyebrow at her apprentice. Thank god her Shishou did not ask any questions because Sakura was sure she would break down from all the guilt. At that point, Sakura was fine with Itachi ignoring her. She did not want to face him. Sakura had no idea how she could ever look in her Taichou's eyes ever again. How did Ino not shame at their actions? The last time Sakura saw Ino, Ino was all bright and normal, like the two had not committed illicit activities. Well, she was a shameless kunoichi, a part of Sakura reasoned.

Sakura grabbed the shampoo she apparently shared with Pakkun and gently washed her hair. Her hair was mid-length. Sakura smiled when she and Ino, along with every other fan girl, grew their hair out for Sasuke back in their Academy days. Her crush on Sasuke was pathetic. It only took almost dying in the chunin exams for her to realize it. After narrowly surviving the chunin exams, Sakura decided no boy was worth changing herself for. She and Ino concluded that Sasuke was not worth their friendship and quickly made up. As a sign of letting go of their stupid obsession with the Uchiha, the two girls cut their hair to shoulder length. Ino had grown out her since then but Sakura never let her hair that long again.

Sakura sighed. Her actions were of the past and she had to get over it. She had carried out more abominable acts than a simple flunking of a psychological exam. Turning off the water in her shower and pushing the guilt deep down in her stomach, Sakura stepped out into the bathroom that attached to her bedroom.

Steam filled the room and fogged the mirror. Sakura did not realize how long she spent in the shower. Her shift at the hospital started soon. Haphazardly drying herself in a fluffy white towel, Sakura threw on scanty pink panties adorned with green polka dots. Shopping with Ino was always an insufferably experience. It usually ended up with Ino buying everything for the two.

Drying her hair as best as she could, Sakura walked out into her bedroom in just her panties as little droplets of water followed her footsteps. Goosebumps adorned her arms and her nipples reflexly hardened to the sudden cold air.

Only after taking a few more steps into her bedroom did Sakura notice that her Taichou was leaning against the wall by her balcony. Itachi was wearing standard black shinobi pants with ninja sandals. He had on a skintight black, sleeveless top that only highlighted the muscles underneath his shirt and brought attention to his strong arms that were crossed against his chest.

His stance looked almost bored. Sakura always wondered how he managed to look so effortlessly dangerous and gentle at the same time. She was either the sweet, soft medic or the crazy, kunoichi bitch.

"Sakura," a deep, seductive tenor broke the silence in the room and her concentration as Sakura looked up to meet dark eyes staring inquisitively into her ivy, emerald eyes.

Sakura remembered back in her genin days when Sasuke would describe his crazy older brother – '_enjoys assassination missions… masochist… sadist… cannibal… cold-blooded'_ – and she instantly imagined a grim reaper that stomped on pretty flowers and ate innocent bunnies for dinner as he cruelly laughed in a dark castle as thunder roared in the background. Little did she know, Sasuke was only over-exaggerating through his jealousy of his older brother.

When she first met Itachi, she almost choked on her saliva. The three genin were having dinner at the Uchiha household. Itachi had returned from a mission as he was wearing standard ANBU gear that Sakura barely noticed. Sasuke's Okasan had pressed Itachi to join his brother and his friends for dinner. Sakura did not know anybody who was more beautiful than Sasuke but Itachi officially had triumphed Sasuke in that category. Unlike Sasuke, Itachi was poised and gentle, and he showed utter devotion and love to Sasuke that was so apparent through his eyes. She was thirteen and naive at the time and the Uchiha heir was eighteen and hardened.

His eyes, Sakura noted, changed so much since the first meeting. They revealed numbness and desensitization but clearly still held that devotion to Sasuke she first saw. But that was not important now. What was he doing in her bedroom? Sakura almost put her arms on her hips before asking what he was doing here, but she noticed his eyes flicker down to her chest. It was then did Sakura realize she was only in a pair of skimpy panties. Her face quickly started turning the color of her hair.

Sakura let out a screech as she instantly covered her chest with her arms and started to turn to dash back into the safety of her bathroom. But Sakura slipped on the small pool of water that garnered by her feet and quickly crashed onto the floor, her head high-fiving her hard wood floor.

Her vision blurred, but she knew she saw Itachi's dark figure above her before unconsciousness completely swallowed her vision.

Sakura did not gain consciousness for another three hours. When the medic blinked her eyes open, she was on a hospital bed. Glancing around the room Sakura concluded she was in her Shishou's personal hospital room. As Sakura sat up, her head suddenly started pounding a million miles a second.

"Lay back down," a stern voice commanded, "you suffered a concussion."

"What?" Sakura mumbled, taking her Shishou's advice and completely laid down on the bed and stared at the blond Sannin while she pressed healing chakra to her head trying to alleviate the pounding headache.

Sakura heard a sigh and a '_I need sake'_ before her Shishou continued. "Uchiha brought you in, said you slipped and hurt your head."

Sakura instantly covered her flushed face and groaned. "Oh Kami." She heard Tsunade laugh as Sakura promptly pulled the blanket over her head. Sakura wondered what her Shishou must have been thinking. "What time is it Shishou?"

"Five in the afternoon," Tsunade smiled at her apprentice's groan, "Your shift technically doesn't end till eight. And, Sakura," Tsunade paused to make sure her apprentice was looking at her, "guilt make people do stupid things."

With that, Sakura was left alone. She was never coming out of her mini blanket cocoon where Tsunade's teasing could not affect her. Although Sakura never told Tsunade that she failed Itachi's assessment, she knew her mentor had figured it out. Sakura was not guilty, not anymore at least. She confronted her guilt earlier. _And look where that brought you_, a voice inside Sakura's head scoffed. Pretending her life was fine, Sakura decided that she would have to say goodbye to her mini cocoon and face reality. Crawling out of bed, Sakura noticed Tsunade left a nurse's outfit by her bedside.

Her eyes quickly stared at the long dark t-shirt that covered her chest. Funny, last time she remembered, she was only wearing panties that would make Ino blush. Her legs were also adorned with loose shorts. Itachi must have dressed her before taking her to the hospital since she realized she was wearing Kakashi-sensei's old t-shirt, Sakura mused before a blush spread across her cheeks. He must have had to rummage through her drawers to find her clothes. He saw her topless. Her Taichou saw her in just her panties. How embarrassing. This was the furthest she's been with any guy.

**_CHA! One step closer to falling in his–_**

Sakura quickly hushed her inner and quickly slipped out of her baggy clothes and into the nurse's outfit. She never liked wearing the nurse's dress, as it was too short for Sakura's liking. She realized she would have to go braless, as Itachi failed to dress her in one, Sakura bitterly contemplated. She could feel Ino's encouraging remarks on her outfit in her head. Sakura could not help to wonder, what had gone through Itachi's head. Was he ever in this type of scenario before? Probably not. What did he think of what he saw? Sakura flushed at her thoughts and shook her head hoping her train of thoughts would scatter. "I don't care what he thinks," Sakura muttered to herself.

**_Liar._**

Sakura hung in her head down. She was lying. She realized she cared more than she wanted to admit of what Itachi thought of her. He was always quiet and watchful, a man of few words. Sakura knew he accepted her but that was as a teammate. He saw more of her skin than anybody else. It made Sakura feel exposed and only further mortified her.

Slipping out of the room and into and out Tsunade's empty office, Sakura walked into the hospital hallway. This was her comfort zone. Smiling at some passing nurses, Sakura grabbed a few patient files and made her way to heal the sickly.

Her first patient was a seven-year-old boy named Yuki. He had the most stunning blue eyes. He reminded Sakura of Naruto in more ways than one. His mother brought him in for a broken arm. Apparently, Yuki had been playing ninja with friends and he thought that nothing would happen to him if he jumped down from a rooftop, like '_those cool ninjas do'_. After Sakura explained that jumping down rooftops was dangerous if he was not properly trained, the boy badgered her to train him. When Sakura politely refused, he asked to marry her. Sakura smiled at the boy's infatuation. "Come back in twenty years, Yuki. Then we'll talk." Yuki pouted his way out the room as his mother apologized at her son's antics.

Her second patient was not a cute, little boy. He was a middle-aged civilian with stomach pains who continuously flirted with Sakura even after she stated she was married. "So why aren't you wearing a ring?" he pestered. Sakura tried to keep her temper in check. "It's unwise to wear a wedding ring in surgery," Sakura replied. She thought that would shut the man up but he only continued to pester her with questions.

"I didn't hear anything about Tsunade-sama's apprentice getting married."

"A lot of shinobis don't publicize their marriages."

"I think you're lying."

"I'm not lying."

"Prove it."

"How am I supposed to prove it!?"

"Who is he?"

"No one you know!"

Sakura hastily finished up healing the civilian and left the room. Civilians were generally easier patients than shinobis were, but they were definitely the ruder of the bunch. Civilians also tended to be the chattier of the two groups, especially when a nurse came to check on them. Many nurses complained of patient's inappropriate behavior and Sakura blamed it on the stupid nurse uniform. Although it was not as slutty as those degrading nurse costumes, the nurse dresses were definitely on the risqué side.

Sakura decided she would check one more patient before switching into scrubs and finding a very long surgery. Sakura almost slapped her forehead. She should have changed into scrubs when she left Tsunade's office. Sakura concluded that it was Itachi's fault. If he never was in her room, she never would have slipped and her head would have never been messed up.

Room 204. Inside was her last general patient. Sakura walked inside before coming to a quick halt. She filled with dread while her inner was jumping with excitement. At least one of them was getting a kick out of this.

"Sakura-chan, long time no see," a bright smile greeted her as he enthusiastically waved with a lollipop still in his mouth, "Whoa Sakura-chan, if you wanted a date, all you had to was ask. No need for any seducing, not that I mind, right Itachi?"

"Hello Shisui," Sakura greeted back with a smile on her face ignoring the Uchiha gawking at her outfit, "What happened?"

Shisui pouted dramatically and he took the lollipop out of his mouth. "Ita-chan put me through a beating."

Don't look at him, don't look at him, don't look at him, Sakura internally chanted like a mantra. She looked up at Itachi and almost regretted it. She could feel her cheeks starting to heat. He looked tall, dark, and mysterious like always. She quickly looked down at Shisui and scanned his injuries. He had a few cuts and bruises and most likely a broken rib. She poured chakra into his chest.

"So, Sakura-chan, where have you been?" Shisui broke the silence.

"In the hospital. I trained with team seven this morning."

Shisui pouted again. "We're your team too."

Sakura almost caved into his pout. Shisui was the rare breed of Uchiha who was not very Uchiha-like. He was almost like Naruto – social, lively, and charming. Shisui was a flirt, not as bad as Gemna but still a flirt. Sakura would be lying if she said his alluring smile did not send butterflies to her stomach occasionally. Unlike the Uchiha straight-hair gene, he was graced with curly, unkempt hair that somehow matched his personality. He shared his height with Itachi but had more muscle to his arms where Itachi was leaner.

It was his relationship with Itachi that Sakura admired most about. Shisui cared very much for his cousin and she figured Itachi saw Shisui as a best friend and another brother. Sakura did not know who could get away with calling Itachi '_Ita-chan'_. Sasuke rather stab himself with a kunai than throw silly nicknames at his brother. The cousins were ying and yang, but they complimented each other's personality on and off missions. Shisui brought humor and spirit, where Itachi brought inscrutability and seriousness. Despite their antithetical personas, Sakura held deep respect for both individuals.

Sakura smiled at Shisui. He always made her smile. "I know. You're my team too."

That seemed to please Shisui. A few more moments went by in silence before Shisui broke tranquility. "So, is Itachi's mental stability going to be ok or should he be in counseling too?"

Sakura almost choked on Shisui's seemingly innocent question. She warily looked up at Itachi who was glaring a hole into Shisui's head. Great, Sakura mulled, let's confront the elephant in the room. Itachi's eyes meet Sakura's eyes and she swore he displayed genuine curiosity on Sakura's answer and almost challenged her to answer.

"You should ask Yamanaka-san," Sakura dodged the question.

"Pity. I think Ita-chan really would've benefited from counseling."

"Maybe he should seek out Dr. Fujiki. He is charge of all shinobi counseling and therapy treatments."

Sakura felt Itachi's glare fix on her, as Shisui's grin grew wider at her response. "Maybe he should. A shinobi psychological state of mind is just as important their physical state."

"Exactly." Sakura agreed as she finished healing the chatty Uchiha, missing the secret smirk Shisui sent to Itachi. "Ok, you're all good."

Shisui jumped to his feet and grinned at Sakura. "Thanks Sakura-chan. Make sure you come to our next training. Kami knows Itachi will combust into flames if he remains in one spot for too long."

"I will," Sakura flashed him a smile before glancing at Itachi to see if he carried any wounds from the two Uchiha's spar. Satisfied seeing him uninjured she scanned his face once more, but found his eyes flickered down to her chest before meeting her eyes. She almost saw disbelief flash through those midnight eyes. Sakura's face quickly turned bright pink for the hundredth time that day. She quickly mustered a goodbye and promptly left the room.

Shisui turned to Itachi with a sulky expression. "You scared her away Ita-chan."

Sakura spent the rest of her shift and majority of the night in the operation room – her safe haven. Tsunade had told her to go home sometime after midnight but Sakura countered that she spent the greater part of her day unconscious and she had all the rest she needed. All she wanted was the past twenty-four hours erased from her mind.

Walking out of the OR, Sakura made her way to the hospital cafeteria after informing the shinobi team that their teammate was going to be fine. She noticed the sun was starting to rise. She really needed to get into a more stable sleeping schedule. Sakura sat down at an empty table with a fruit cup.

What was Itachi even doing in her apartment early last morning? He was wearing his usual training gear, Sakura perceived. He probably came to inform her about a training session. Sakura snorted. It only took him a week to stop ignoring her. But he was not that immature. Sasuke had mentioned the clan elders had forced Itachi to attend clan meetings now that he was obliged to stay in the village. Sakura felt bad. She knew the Uchiha clan elders would give Itachi a hard time for his failed psychological exam.

They were a rude bunch of dying geezers. They were almost as bad as the Konoha council. Maybe the two groups conspired with each other. One time, about a year after Sasuke's retrieval from Orochimaru, team seven had decided to train at one of the Uchiha training grounds for a change. Unfortunately for team seven, two members of the clan elders were taking a tranquil walk around clan grounds. The trio were taking a short break between sparring and the elders just so happened to walk past the team. The elders berated Sasuke for bringing undeserving commoners on clan property. They insulted Naruto by calling him an unstable, jinchuriki unfit to be around an Uchiha and had called Sakura an inferior civilian and worthless kunoichi.

It was only days after when Sakura found out that Sasuke was ordered to renounce membership from team seven. Naruto had wanted to go on a rampage into the Uchiha estate and Sakura would have gladly let him. The only thing that stopped Naruto was Sasuke, who continued to come to trainings and missions. He had clearly defied the elders' wishes. Sakura was not naïve to know that Sasuke had simply said '_no'_ to the elders and suffered no repercussions, but whenever Sakura asked him about the matter he told her not to worry about it.

She knew the clan would be upset about Itachi's unsuccessful assessment. Sakura was sure they would bring the matter to the Sandaime and Inoichi but Ino told her that her Otousan was not confronted about Itachi. Their plan was still alive and unscathed. So far.

Sakura could not help but to wonder what kind of trouble Itachi was in. Sasuke had mentioned on several occasions how Itachi would busy himself on missions to get away from the elders. She had basically fed Itachi to the elders with her actions. That only made her feel guiltier and more embarrassed.

Sakura almost laughed when she summaried the sequence of events in her head – Itachi goes on missions to get away from the elders, Itachi's health deteriorates, Sakura interferes and breaks the law, Itachi is stuck in the village, elders get what the want. Elders are happy. Itachi is unhappy. Sakura is both.

Although guilt was a very heavy emotion in her life at the moment – along with mortification, distress, and shame – Sakura knew she would not be able to live with herself if she had let Itachi prance around on missions in that condition. He was a formidable shinobi, the best in their generation, maybe the best ever, but he was still human. The elders and the village could continue treating him like a piece of meat or tool. That was fine. But Sakura resolved she would fight for him. Hell, she would even break more Konoha law if it came to it.

After Sakura came to peace with her decision regarding Itachi's evaluation, she remembered the almost naked run in with him. Groaning once again, Sakura vowed not to ponder upon the subject anymore. She stood up and started making her way to Ino's apartment. She knew that bottling her feelings up would only prove to be catastrophic in the end. It was better to get everything out in the open. At least, everything that was appropriate.

Ino's apartment she shared with Shikamaru was fairly close to the hokage building. The two had moved in almost a year ago. Sakura remembered the pig's smug face and light teasing that Sakura was falling to far behind in their race of achievements. The Yamanaka heir and Nara heir were officially together for two years. They had been sneaking around for months before Ino kindly demanded that they make it official if Shikamaru continued to want sex from her. It was Ino again who kindly explained that they could die any day in the line of duty and they should move in together. Poor Shikamaru did not even have a choice, as Ino had already bought an apartment.

In all reality, Sakura admired their relationship. They were complete opposites. Ino was loud and scheming while Shikamaru was lazy and unenthusiastic. But they made quite the pair, on and off the battlefield. Sakura knew Ino had Shikamaru wrapped around her finger and she knew Shikamaru knew that. The consequences for the Nara would be too troublesome if he did not do what Ino wanted. But Sakura knew that Shikamaru would do anything for Ino regardless.

Sakura jumped onto the couple's balcony. It was almost six thirty in the morning. Sakura slid open the glass door and stepped inside the couple's bedroom. The two were sleeping but Ino slowly sat up, feeling Sakura's chakra. Shikamaru remained still as Sakura did not know if he was truly sleeping and did not notice her chakra or if he noticed and ignored her presence.

Ino scooted closer to Shikamaru making room for Sakura and tapped on the empty space motioning for Sakura to come over. It was almost a tradition for the two friends. Whenever either kunoichi wanted to talk, the two would curl into bed together and talk it out. It was an open door policy. Shikamaru almost had a heart attack when he remembered sleeping next to Ino and waking up to Sakura who had curled up in between the couple. Shikamaru just sighed and accepted that Sakura was the third member in their relationship.

"What happened forehead?" Ino asked, rubbing the sleep out her eyes.

Sakura snuggled into the bed and pulled the blanket to her chin and stared at Shikamaru.

"He probably figured it out already," Ino pointed. Though Shikamaru did not say anything, Ino know that her genius-of-a-lazy-boyfriend would not say anything about the matter.

"Don't you feel a little guilty?"

Ino sighed. "I knew this was going to happen. You have too much of a conscience."

Ino stared at her best friend. Sakura was so determined to fail Itachi's psychological exam. It was the craziest thing that had ever come out of Sakura's mouth, but Ino knew that Sakura would do anything to the people that she cared about. Ino also knew that once the adrenaline ran out, guilt would overcome her best friend. Ino was now in charge of damage control.

"Of course I feel a little guilty, but I'm not going to let that stop me from sleeping at night. Besides, what's done is done. We can't undo it."

Sakura nodded. Ino was right. It was in the past now. "Ughhh." Sakura completely buried herself under the covers.

Ino narrowed her eyes at the pink haired medic. "What are you not telling me?"

"My whole life story," Sakura sarcastically replied.

"I'm serious forehead. You're not telling me something."

"I don't know what you're talking about pig."

"Liar."

Sakura popped her head out of the blanket and glared at Ino. "I'm not lying."

"Sakura, I spend my days in the dungeon learning interrogation techniques. If I couldn't tell when someone is lying, Ibiki-sensei would kick me so far, I'd end up in Suna, especially if that someone was my best friend who I've known for years. Besides, you look like you just kicked a kitty," Ino smirked.

Sakura exhaled. "I don't know how to explain."

"Start from the beginning."

"Itachi saw me naked," Sakura blurted. Ino's jaw fell. "Well not naked-naked. I was wearing panties, which really can't be categorized as any type of article of clothing that covers, because they did not cover much," Sakura ranted.

"Pause! He what!?" Ino had jumped out her spot and accidentally pushed Shikamaru off the bed who landed on the flood with a thud and groan but made no movements to get up. Sakura's cheeks grew pink. "Forehead start talking."

"Then I slipped and gave myself a concussion."

Ino started laughing. "How unfortunate," she sarcastically replied.

"It was an accident."

"What do you mean an accident? You know what I think, I think you 'accidentally' took your shirt off hoping to help him relieve all that stress you claim he's under. Instead, you slipped and gave yourself a concussion. Now you're unsatisfied, he unsatisfied, and that unsatisfactory feeling is messing with your head and making you go crazy."

"Ino!"

"Geez Sakura, the way I see it, it's only fair that he saw you in only panties. All the time he takes his shirt off, it's about time you repaid him the favor. Chest for chest, right forehead?"

"Pig! You're unbelievable! It wasn't even like that."

"Stop being so prude Sakura. You're going to die a virgin if you keep this up. I'm sure he liked what he saw."

Sakura crossed her arms and pouted. "How do you even know that?"

"I don't. I'm just trying to make you feel better," Ino reasoned, "Maybe he didn't like what he saw. I mean, what can he do. Kick you off his team and spread nasty rumors about your flat chest?"

"I'm not flat chested!"

"No one said you were."

Sakura groaned. She felt even worse now that she talked to Ino. She did not have a flat chest. Not anymore, at least. And Itachi would not kick her off his ANBU team – a team she was not even an official member of – because he did not like her 'flat chest'. That was unethical. A tiny voice of reason reminded Sakura that she wrongly failed Itachi's psychological exam, which was also very unethical. But she was concerned about his health, Sakura tried to reason with that voice. It was a futile attempt, as it did not make her feel any better.

Sakura had to get away from Ino. Ino was basically bouncing in glee at Sakura's situation. She decided not to tell Ino about her frisking through the hospital without a bra. The pig might have died with joy at Sakura's scandalous behavior. Sakura was not about to let Ino have that satisfaction and gloating rights.

"I'm leaving now, pig."

"Just remember forehead," Ino said, looking deathly serious, "keep your clothes on."

Sakura chucked a pillow at the laughing, blonde's head before promptly leaving the Nara-Yamanaka residence.

Ino smiled. Her work was done. Her prudish best friend was soon going to do something she regretted. Ino could feel it. Her devilish smile widened. This was going to be interesting. Ino snuggled in her warm blanket, completely ignoring her boyfriend who continued to lie on the floor. More room for her.

Sakura transported home dropped on her bed. It was a mentally exhausting day. She looked at her bathroom door, knowing that she should take a quite shower before sleeping. Sakura grumbled. The last time she was anywhere near the bathroom, she slipped in front of her Taichou in nothing but panties. She decided to take a shower after some sleep.

She did not know how long she was asleep, but an influx of chakra woke her up. Sakura quickly sat up on her bed and stared at the ANBU that appeared in her room.

"The hokage requires your presence for a mission with team eleven."

Before Sakura could nod in understanding, the ANBU disappeared as quickly as they arrived. Anger bubbled through her stomach. There should be no missions with team eleven, at least for another two weeks. All the hard work or committing multiple crimes and the pounds guilt that came along all flushed down the gutter. She disrespected her Taichou and Konoha law so Itachi could get recuperation time from missions and seemed that no matter what lengths she went through, Itachi was a magnetic for missions. Sakura groaned as she fell back into bed. Her bed was so comfortable though. Sakura sighed. The last thing she needed on her plate was an angry Itachi for being late to the hokage tower.

She rushed out of bed and threw on her ANBU attire before jumping out her window. The sky was a beautiful shade of orange as the streets started dwindling with people. Sakura must have slept more than she realized. As the hokage tower came to view, Sakura transported herself into the building outside the hokage office. After knocking gently and receiving a 'come in', Sakura walked into the office. She was relieved that Genma was yet to arrive judging from the chakra present in the office. But that only left her with the Sandaime, who was diligently working on paperwork, Shisui, who was innocently standing next to Itachi, and her captain, who she choose to ignore. It seemed he was doing the same to her. Genma arrived not to long after.

The Sandaime stopped signing some paperwork and looked at the Itachi. "How's that groin injury?"

Dead silence.

Sakura had never been so happy that she was wearing a mask – her face wore mixed expressions of dread and trepidation. She was almost afraid to swallow for she knew Itachi would catch that movement and throw her into Tsukuyomi. She stood deathly still and tried to act normal while prayed she came out this ordeal alive. Her plan backfired just like her guilty conscience reminded her everytime she seemed to finally relax. Sakura noticed Shisui slightly shake, probably trying really hard to contain his laughter behind his mask and she could feel Genma's grim. Sakura would probably be laughing in this situation too, if only she was not the one who would suffer Itachi's wrath.

To her surprise, Itachi played along. "I have recovered."

"Good. I apologize for cutting your break short. We can't let our best shinobi sit around for too long," the Sandaime took his eyes off the scroll he was reading and scanned the four men team, "this is a retrieval mission," he grabbed the mission scroll and handed it to Itachi. "I want you to avoid any unnecessary combat if possible. You will leave in an hour."

The four ANBU bowed and transported out the hokage tower.

Sakura appeared in the safety of her bedroom. She resisted the urge to look over her should to make sure her Taichou did not follow her to her home. This was exactly what she was trying to avoid. Sakura almost scoffed at her naivety that she would get away scratch free. She had vowed to ignore him for as long as possible before going to sleep earlier and now she was going on a mission with Itachi. She had no idea how he would react.

When she and Ino controlling Inoichi's body went to notify the Sandaime of Itachi's final readings of his assessment, the Sandaime originally did not believe that Itachi would fail the psychological exam. The hokage almost did not follow protocol and was determined to continuing sending Itachi on missions without assigning him a leave of absence. Sakura started panicking. She almost did not catch the look Ino sent her. She suddenly exclaimed that Itachi could not go on another mission. The Sandaime had raised an eyebrow Sakura's way. Using all of her composure, Sakura informed the Sandaime of Itachi's recent groin injury. He did not quite believe her, but Sakura garnered her best concerned medic persona and explained that Itachi's body was under a lot of stress and with the groin injury, he would not be able to function at his best. She added that specific groin injuries should just heal naturally. Ino quickly interjected how his physical state impacts his mental state.

If only Sakura was in a more observant state, she would have caught the small look of tension in the Sandaime's eyes when she and Ino informed him of Itachi's state. But she did not catch the look of consternation. She never would.

She took a quick shower before sealing necessary supplies and belongings into a scroll. Grabbing her mask a cloak, Sakura made her way to team eleven's usual meeting spot by the main gates. Shisui was already there, leaning casually against a large rock. He nodded in greeting as Sakura arrived. She could already feel his widening grin behind his mask.

"So, Sakura-chan," Shisui started as Sakura automatically rolled her eyes, "I didn't hear about my baby cousin's little injury."

"He asked me not to mention it." The words came faster than her voice of reason could stop her.

Sakura could feel Shisui's glee. "Oh really. I wonder how did he retained that injury," Shisui teasingly thought out loud.

Sakura crossed her arms and faced away from the teasing Uchiha. "I'm not continuing this conversation."

"Aw, Sakura-chan, I'm just concerned about Ita-chan."

"Me too," Genma's entered the conversation as he jumped into the scene, "No wonder he was so antsy. He couldn't use his manhood properly."

Sakura resisted the urge to physically cover her ears with her hands like a child. "Ugh. I don't want to hear about this."

Shisui and Genma laughed. For cold ANBU killers, her two comrades were quite odd. Between nonchalant Itachi, flirty Genma, and playful Shisui, Sakura concluded she was the only normal one on the four-man team.

"He must have been pissed that not only a subordinate, but also a very beautiful lady told him that the clan's most prized possession would be deficient for some time. It's not something a man wants to hear."

The two immature ANBU shinobi snickered as Sakura blessed kami for the mask she was wearing. She would feel how red her face was. Genma had just talked about Itachi's _manhood_ like it was of normal discussion. It was a particular topic that Sakura never once thought would be a topic of discussion. She never even thought of Itachi is such a suggestive manner.

"Hey Sakura–"

Sakura did a complete one eighty and jabbed Genma's chest with her finger. "Why don't you take _your_ dick and shove it up your ass before I do it for you, which will cause way more than a groin injury."

"That would be unnecessary," a fourth voice said.

The three members turned their heads to face their Taichou, who had appeared with his arms crossed, and straightened a little. Like Genma, he was not wearing his mask. Evidence of irritation and mirth played in his eyes. Sakura felt his dark eyes pierce through her mask. He kept his eyebrow raised as Sakura straightened a little more.

There was a short interval of silence, as Sakura did not trust what would come out her mouth. Shisui quietly giggled to himself as Itachi shot a quick glare at Genma who sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. Itachi took out the mission scroll and passed it to Genma.

"We are to go to borders of Yugakure," Itachi started explaining, "There have been increased reports of rogue ninja spotted in the area. The rogues have recently kidnapped the daughter of wealthy merchant. We are to retrieve the daughter, gather intel on the kidnappers, and avoid any conflicts if possible."

The group nodded in understanding. After the scroll was passed among all members of the team, Itachi burned the scroll. Shisui quickly pulled Itachi to the side and whispered something that did not reach the ears of the other two members. Sakura, on the other hand, promised to keep her mouth shut for the rest of the mission.

The team promptly left Konoha. Their destination was a straight two-day run, although Sakura hoped they would camp out for the night. She looked at Itachi who usually lead the group in front, whereas Genma followed right behind and Shisui tended to stay closer to Sakura in the back. Itachi was ignoring her. A small part of Sakura knew it was just paranoia. She certainly did not expect him to sit down and play tea with her, but she knew he was acting more broody than usual and definitely ignoring her. _Man up,_ Sakura told herself. They were on a mission. She should not be moping about personal issues.

The team had darted through the trees for most of the night. The specific lushness of Konoha land started to recede as new breeds of trees sprouted from the ground and increased streams adorned the land. The Land of Fire, especially around Konoha, was one of the rare lands that enjoyed all four seasons and every weather type between. However, the weather at the Fire Land's border varied drastically. Moderate spring-like weather usually engulfed Yugakure and the Land of Hot Water with heavy showers in winter.

Yugakure had once been a hidden village, Sakura remembered from one of the history book she read awhile ago. It renounced their hidden village status to become a more commercialized village. By renouncing their hidden status, the village dramatically diminished their need for shinobis. Although they had a small assembly of shinobis, it was nowhere near the amount of ninjas they had decades ago. The village usually commissioned mercenaries or other villages for shinobis if they ever needed manpower. They definitely had the money. By commercializing their village, Yugakure grew to be a rather wealthy village. It was popular vacation hub among regular civilians.

Sakura lost track of the hours they traveled at high speed. The first mission with team eleven had been one of the most gruesome missions Sakura was ever assigned to. It was a simple mission; there was no vigorous battle with the enemy. It was the traveling that nearly killed her. Sakura came to understand Itachi was pacifist when it came to the battleground, but a tyrant when it came to traveling. The man could travel for hours without a break, which he rarely allowed.

It had started to rain about an hour ago. It was a slow drizzle to now a heavy downpour. Sakura noticed Itachi start to slow down before he completely halted and turned to face his team. "There is a town several miles north. We shall rest there."

They made their way to the small town and found a pleasant little inn. It was a small establishment of three mediocre stories located at the town borders. The team walked inside to the front desk.

A newspaper blocked the individual at the front desk. They made no move to look at the Konoha shinobi. Itachi let out a small cough to get their attention. The individual lowered the newspaper. An old lady stared at the team with a bored expression.

"What do you want?"

With the utmost politeness, Itachi responded. "We would like two rooms."

The old woman narrowed her eyes at the Uchiha, obviously trying to classify him in some category. "Are you married, son?"

Sakura almost choked as Shisui and Genma tried to contain their laughter while Itachi's civil facial expression remained the same. "No, I am not."

"Such a pity. My daughter was engaged to his handsome fellow with dark hair and darker eyes. Almost looked like you. She ran away on her wedding day with the neighbor's son, of all the men she could've had. Apparently they've been having an affair for almost five years. She's expecting now. Six months along."

Itachi was patient. Sakura commended him for that. She was already rolling her eyes at the old lady's story.

"They live in the next town over. It gets quite difficult to visit them, especially in the wintertime with all the rain and my age. My legs are weak now. I used to be able to run miles without break, now I can barely visit by own daughter," she handed Itachi two keys, "Your rooms are on the second floor."

Itachi thanked her as the team made their way to their rooms. Whenever Itachi displayed a change of heart on missions and let his team check into a motel, he always checked into two rooms after Sakura once half-jokingly stated she did not feel comfortable staying in a room with Genma. Sakura was teasing Genma when she said that but it seemed Itachi took it a little more seriously. She usually shared a room with Itachi or even Shisui occasionally.

Genma and Shisui grabbed a key from Itachi's hand and hurried into one the rooms and slammed the door shut, leaving Itachi and Sakura alone in the hallway. Those pricks, Sakura thought as a vein throbbed on her forehead. They did that on purpose. It was not the first time Sakura shared a room with Itachi. Although it was awkward the first few times, Itachi was a gentleman. He even let Sakura take showers first. Sakura did not think it was a big deal but her views slightly changed after Shisui told her that that there was an unspoken rule within the ANBU that captains got dibs on the bathroom first. With team seven, it was a free-for-all when it came to showers. Sakura got no special treatment but usually ended up taking showers first after much threatening, pouting, and puppy dog eyes.

The two remaining Konoha nin walked into the small room. The room was decorated with a standard queen sized bed and a large table by the door. A loveseat was placed near the window and the walls were embellished with countless picture frames. Sakura took off her wet cloak and placed it on the chair by the desk to dry.

"I'm going to get food," Itachi stated without meeting her eye.

Sakura nodded. Her paranoia vanished. He was definitely ignoring her. It was a fact. Sakura took off her vest and boots and decided to take a quick warm shower. Slipping into the bathroom, Sakura took a swift shower to warm her up from the cold rain they travel through. She changed into shorts and a loose long sleeved shirt and cozy ankle socks. Itachi was still not back yet. Feeling the exhaustion of traveling, Sakura curled into bed and threw the warm blanket over her shoulders. She was asleep within minutes.

Sakura's unconscious jumped to the story the old woman at the front desk told. Sakura was the daughter and Itachi was the dark haired man she was originally united to. She saw herself running through the forest in a pure white shiromuku kimono. It was lightening and thundering as the rain hit her like stones falling from the sky. She tripped several times but continued to chase the nameless voice that was calling her to come closer. Just as she seemed to reach the voice, a dark figured jumped in front of her. Sakura fell backwards as she stared into bleeding red eyes.

"Sakura, you lied."

Sakura could feel tears in eyes. "I'm sorry, I just–"

"Just what?" His voice was uncharacteristically coarse. "Just told the whole village lies about my groin injury."

Tears spilled out of Sakura eyes as they blend with the rain. "I'm sorry I'm sorry–"

"Now the whole village thinks I'm marred. The hokage discharged me from active duty. The clan disowned me. I am nothing now."

"I didn't mean any of this to happen. I just wanted you to get rest."

"It's too late Sakura."

An abnormally bright strike of lightening blinded her eyes as thunder impaired her hearing before she could respond. Sakura jumped out of bed, heavily breathing. She grabbed her and sighed.

It was a dream.

It was just a dream.

No, it was her guilty conscious admonishing her for her recent actions. She could still feel Itachi's fiery eyes carving a hole through her soul. Sakura checked if her clothing was still dry and not wet from running in the raining forest in her dream. Her paranoia was on high alert. She sighed a breath of relief before glancing around the room. Itachi was absent, but there was an unopened takeout box on the desk.

Sakura threw her legs over the bed. This was getting out of control. She was going to find Itachi and confront the growing issue by apologizing. He had to stop ignoring her and her conscience could finally stop reminding her of her wrongdoings. She sensed his chakra in another room on the first floor. Sakura panicked. Had he really gotten another room to avoid Sakura? Sakura felt a unsettling emotion pooled in her stomach. He was probably disappointed by her actions. She rather him yell and shout at her than avoid her with disappointment.

She swiftly followed his chakra to the first floor. He was in what looked like a lounge sitting on a window seat with his back against a large pillow and arms crossed as he stared out the window. A small wave of relief washed some of the sourness away. He did not get another room to get away from her. Sakura slowly walked towards the Uchiha and sat a safe distance across him, just enough room for her to quickly jump back if he did not accept her apology and attacked. He did not look at her but she knew he probably sensed her presence the second she got out of bed.

The raw determination of apologizing to him quickly disappeared with nervousness. Silence broke between the two as Sakura watched the rain fall from the sky. The weather mirrored her inner turmoil. It seemed kami had a sense of humor.

"Sakura." That deep, sensual voice that always sent goose bumps up her arms broke her empty thoughts as Sakura quickly turned to look at Itachi who was giving her a questioning look.

He looked calm, almost peaceful. But Sakura knew he was a master at controlling his emotions and actions. Exactly unlike her. There were probably two hundred different emotions going through inside him but he rarely displayed any of them. After spending countless missions and training sessions together, Sakura considered herself an expert body language reader. She had enough practice from Sasuke. Sasuke was much easier to read though.

"I like this weather." Sakura stated as she moved her eyes from her Taichou to the window. Her inner slapped her forehead. Itachi did not respond as he also shifted his eyes to rain outside.

"I'm sorry," Sakura blurted keeping her eyes strictly on the window. "I know it wrong for me to do what I did and I did a lot of wrong things in this situation, I'm sure you've figured everything out by now. And if you didn't – who am I kidding you probably figured everything out and I can explain, I really can," Sakura knew she was ranting but she lost control of her tongue.

"You were just overexerting yourself and although you weren't showing extreme signs of exhaustion but it was evident that you were projecting down a dark road coming from a medic's prospective. And I couldn't let you do that to your health because your health matters, just as much as going on mission for the village. And I apologize for my tactics but you weren't listening and I didn't know what else I could do and I don't agree that you should be on this mission but–"

Sakura stopped herself as she noticed Itachi raise an eyebrow at her. She gave him a sheepish smile. Maybe she could smile her way out of this awkward apology session. "I'm sorry," Sakura repeated, "I hope you're not mad at me."

Sakura averted her eyes from the Uchiha. She could feel him observing her from the corner of her eyes. She refused to think about what was going through his head at the moment.

"I'm not mad."

Sakura looked up to see if he was joking. His expression remained serious but truthful. Sakura could feel herself gaping but did not care. "I appreciate what you did."

Her jaw completely fell. Sakura tried to decide if he was joking or complimenting her. His expression showed no signs of deceit. Sakura mulled over his words. Of course he appreciated her actions, a part of Sakura resolved. No one probably went the lengths she did for him. If anything, her actions for Itachi's health were in all likelihood, quite surprising to both parties.

"Really?"

Sakura noticed the corners of his mouth turn upward.

He was smiling.

Sakura stared wide-eyed at him, her mouth probably still hanging open. The Uchiha heir was smiling at her. She felt butterflies in her stomach. His smile was rather attractive. She's seen him smirk multiple times, usually after her snarky comebacks to their other two teammates, but in all her years of knowing him, he has never smiled at her. He would smile at Sasuke, who never seemed to notice.

"Really," Itachi assured.

That was good enough for Sakura and her conscience. She abruptly stood up and smiled back at Itachi.

"Ok good. I've really been worried," Sakura said, her attitude taking a quick one-eighty, "I'm going back to the room. You should get some sleep."

Itachi nodded but did not get up from his spot. Sakura started walking away before coming to a halt and glancing back at the Uchiha. "I'll always fight for you, ok." Sakura did not wait to see Itachi's reaction as she quickly disappeared form the lounge. She did not get a chance to see his small smile get a little wider.

* * *

><p><em>And then I fell into pieces and she fell into me<em>

_Saying, "Play me a song it's been too long since I've heard you sing."_

_And you got here just in time_

_To let me know I was worth saving_

_It's nothing more than for the hearts_

_Too proud to breathe_

_But I'm too scared to say the things worth saying_

_Who knew this trip would be this hard?_

_-_Mayday Parade "Walk on Water or Drown"

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><p><strong>Lovely readers. Thank you so much for your kind comments and favorites. It fuels my writing, keep them coming. I been doing nothing but writing for the past few days and got this chapter out way sooner than I expected. Sorry again for any mistakes you may find, I was so excited to post this chapter. I don't think the next chapter will be out this fast.<strong>

**I think the hardest thing about writing is choosing which song lyrics to post and what to name the chapters. So far, I'm planning on this story to be around 15-18 chapters long. No promises. I have two endings in mind - one happy, one sad. I don't know which one I'll be following, so I guess we'll just have to wait and find out. I love Sakura and Ino's interactions. I wish it was something that was shown more in the manga, but I love exploring it in stories. I hope I got all the characters' personalities right. It's something I'm aiming for.**

**Recently, I have been on a netflix binge. I am starting to watch Grey's Anatomy for the fourth time now. I am the biggest fan of Grey's. Best show ever. MERDER FOREVER! **

**Hope you've enjoyed the chapter. Feel free to ask any questions, comments, concerns. **

**Until next time :)**


	3. Poison

Chapter 3 – Poison

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><p><em>Refuse to feel anything at all, refuse to slip, refuse to fall <em>

_You can't be weak, can't stand still_

_ You watch your back 'cause no one will_

_You don't know why they had to go this far_

_Traded your worth for these scars, for your only company _

_Don't believe the lies that they have told to you _

_Yeah, not one word was true_

_You're alright, you're alright, you're alright_

- Lifehouse "Simon"

* * *

><p>Itachi was avoiding the clan elders.<p>

He was at the point where he would gladly and shamelessly accept his rude actions. It was quite a difficult task actually. He was stuck in the village again, after Sakura somehow persuaded the Sandaime that he should receive the remaining two weeks off after interrupting his assigned vacation time with a mission. So here he was, stuck in the village he vowed to protect because of a pink haired medic with a big heart.

Boredom was consuming him. He could find the elders and catch up on all the details he missed in previous meetings, but he could be that much of an honest man. He, however, would not let his restlessness consume him and take control of his action, like his Otouto and his blond haired teammate who always would cause some unseen mischief – in which Sasuke did not know Itachi knew – if they were stuck in the village for too long. Sasuke would die from sulking if he found out Itachi kept tabs on him.

Itachi recalled a time when Sasuke was a genin, his Otouto and Naruto decided to relocate their father's most prized katana. His Otousan and Okaasan were out for the evening and Itachi had just returned from training. The two genin had made so much noise in their failed attempt to play a prank by their continuous bickering. They had not noticed Itachi's presence, as the two gave up their brilliant idea of a prank when Sasuke chickened out when he realized that Otousan would not be pleased. It was during time when Sasuke strived to gain their father's attention and Sasuke concluded that relocating his Otousan's katana was not going to get put him on his good graces.

Itachi took a sip of his tea. He had found a new café in Konoha and decided to hide out there. After his daily morning routine, Itachi had snuck out and wandered aimlessly for a while before finding a flyer for a new café. He grabbed reading materials and made his way to 'Iro's Café'. It was rather small, but it boasted to have '_Konoha's best selection of tea'_. It was located in the neighborhood Sakura resided in, as Itachi mindlessly wondered what Sakura was doing at the current moment and if he would run into her. He decided to sit at a table outside and enjoy the dwindling warm weather and ignore the waitress's outrageous flirtly glances.

It had been a week since his last mission in Yugakure that had gone flawless, except for the rain that continuously fell from the sky throughout the duration of their whole mission. His team located the merchant's daughter, captured the head of the captives, and safely returned the daughter back to her family. The merchant had been so pleased with the team that he urged them to stay a few more days. Itachi had politely refused, saying that Konoha expected them back as soon as possible.

After Sakura's apology he did not have a reason to avoid her gaze. Her intuition had been correct; he was avoiding her, but not because he was mad at her actions like she thought. It had made him feel rather insulted that Sakura thought that he would be mad at her action. He was actually quite proud. It took a lot of grit to challenge him – as he found out that Sasuke had spread the label 'Prince of Darkness' around Konoha thus intimidating his reputation. He silently appraised Sakura's determination as a medic fighting for her patient's health.

The reason he had been evading her presence had nothing to her failing his psyche exam, at least at first. When the clan elders heard about Itachi's failed assessment, they had been furious. They even threatened to go to the hokage to force the Sandaime to punish the ones responsible for failing the assessment. The Uchiha clan heir could not be embarrassed with such a failing. He knew that if the clan elders continued to push, they would figure out that the failing was all a sham. If they came to that discovery, Itachi knew that Sakura's medic career and most likely her kunoichi career would come to an abrupt end. Sakura did not deserve that. She deserved a shiny medal stating 'Konoha's best medic', in Itachi's opinion, for her actions. So he distracted the clan from his assessment's shortcoming with himself. He lured them into a clan meeting using himself as bait.

It was a sacrifice that Itachi was fully willing to commit.

Everything that had happened after, however, Itachi somewhat blamed Sakura for his atypical actions. Shisui had taken notice that Sakura had not been present at the last team eleven training. He knew Shisui had probably figured Sakura was behind his failed assessment from the obvious teasing remarks Shisui taunted. Shisui was convinced that Itachi was avoiding their sweet medic teammate and forced Itachi to summon her to their next training. Itachi had kindly told Shisui he was not avoiding Sakura and she probably was at the hospital.

Shisui had mocked Itachi. His mocking was the last straw, and to make his cousin stop talking, Itachi agreed to go inform Sakura about team eleven's spontaneous training session that mid-afternoon. Itachi made his way to Sakura's home. He sensed her inside her bathroom, and decided to wait for her, instead of fleeting the scene that a part of him urged to do.

She was taking her jolly time. He wondered if she was doing that on purpose or not. He concluded that it was her way of retaliation for his faultless avoidance. She probably thought he would leave after waiting for at least ten minutes, but he did not. He would not let her childish tactics overpower him – even if he was tired and annoyed of waiting. Itachi knew that he would get an earful from Shisui if Sakura did not show up to the training. Shisui's mockery and smugness was something Itachi was avoiding.

It was a good twenty minutes when Itachi heard the shower water turn off, not that he was impatiently counting. Sakura made her way out only moments after – wearing nothing but a pair of pink skimpy panties. His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. He did not think Sakura was the type of girl to wear such racy clothing even if this little article of clothing would hide underneath actual clothing. He tried not to let the heat running up his neck to reach his face as he tried to figure out what the pinkette was aiming at walking out like that.

She looked up at him with those wide, expressive eyes that had no business in a shinobi lifestyle. Her eyes had stared back at him with curiousness and no emotion related to shame or discomfort at her current state of dress. He tried to keep his eyes on her face but failed miserably as he had looked down. Her skin was still wet from her shower, as little droplets of water slid down her slender neck and into the valley of her breasts. They were firm, average sized with erect nipples. His gaze fell to the slender curves of her hips and flat stomach to those frivolous garments that hid– Itachi quickly looked up to her face, ending his train of thoughts.

Sakura did not even notice her lack of clothing as she opened her mouth to say something but realized the predicament she was in. She had let out a mortified shriek and turned to run into the bathroom. Itachi almost felt bad for the medic, as she tripped and fell with a thud before he could reach her. He knew he could have broken her fall but his current state of mind had hindered his fast reflexes. When he made his way to Sakura, she was blinking with unconsciousness as a trail of blood seeped from her head.

It was embarrassing, Itachi admitted, for her and him. He could not let her bleed to death on her bedroom floor and he did not know any medical ninjutsu to aid her bleeding head. If Itachi were anyone else, he would have taken this perfect opportunity to slide his eyes down his attractive teammate's body, but he did not do such a thing. He had honor.

She needed an actual medic. Itachi ruffled through a few drawers trying to find clothing he could quickly dress her in before taking her to the hospital. He had accidentally found her underwear drawer as he quickly shut it, ignoring the colorful garments and the heat in his cheeks.

Dressing Sakura was the most awkward situation he was ever in. The only person he ever dressed was himself, and Sasuke was he was a little child. When he had tried to slip Sakura's arm into the shirt, he accidently dropped her as her head made a loud thump on the floor, probably exacerbating her head injury. He had taken a quick deep breath to clear the awkwardness before reaching for her other arm, which resulted him grabbing her right breast. It was an unfortunate situation, Itachi mulled. Receiving Tsunade's questioning gaze was another ordeal he did not wish to suffer from again. The blond Sannin did not ask any questions relating to the situation – other than how Sakura retained her head injury in which Itachi quickly stated Sakura had slipped and fell. It was the truth. He knew that Tsunade must have been thinking at the whole scenario wrongly but choose to ignore the devious smile that played on her lips.

When he made his way back to the training grounds, Shisui gave him curious look with an eyebrow raised. Itachi merely stated that Sakura was in the hospital, which was not a lie, per say.

He did not mean to let out his vexation with the Sakura situation on Shisui during their spar. But it was hard to control the nameless feelings that bottled out of Itachi when he was dealing with Sakura. When he took Shisui to the hospital, after Shisui's incessant complaints of pain, Sakura had walked in wearing a nurse's uniform. At least Shisui was having fun with her appearance. Itachi just stood silently in the corner of room, trying not to notice her outfit or the fact that she was not wearing a bra.

Sure, she was attractive. She was really attractive. He would have been a blind fool not to notice her alluring charisma and sweet personality. She was a formidable kunoichi and an exceptional medic with a big heart. But he was not attracted to her, Itachi concluded, though the realistic part of his mind begged to differ. She was his subordinate, his Otouto's teammate and friend. It was wrong. So he buried that realistic part of his mind.

Team eleven had been assigned to a mission not even halfway into his break, although Itachi happily accepted the mission – anything that would let him get away from the clan and his restlessness. The meeting with the Sandaime had gone horribly unpredictable. The whole situation reeked with Sakura's meddling. Although he never asked exactly how Sakura had managed to fail his assessment and convince the hokage to let him have a break, he was certainly curious now. A groin injury? Itachi almost wanted to scoff. He was certainly entertained at Sakura's strategy, but a little abused at tactics she used.

It was not his intention, but Itachi admitted he had been avoiding her afterwards on the mission, as the bedroom and hospital incidents – as Itachi referred to – clouded his mind. It was a mission they were on and he had to focus. That was until she apologized. The medic thought he was mad at her. It almost insulted him that she was so convinced that he would be mad at her. He was the furthest thing from mad. He was grateful at her actions. His actions were not fair to her, he knew that. She was affecting him like nobody had before and Itachi did not know how to handle it.

She had softly stated that she would fight for him. It had surprised Itachi at first. He knew her words had a double meaning behind them, but he did not care to analyze her words at the moment. Her words had provided some comfort and he gladly accepted the warm feeling that had consumed his stomach. He could not help but to smile at her retreating figure.

It was, as Shisui would put it, one hell of a week since the mission. He hadn't seen Sakura since then. She was probably working at the hospital and training with Tsunade as he remembered Sasuke grumble something along the lines of '_she was my teammate first'_ and '_stop requesting her on missions'_ and '_haven't seen her in two weeks'_. He was busy himself, as he helped out at the Intelligence department when he was in Konoha.

He took a sip of his 'buba buba mango herbal tea'. The waitress had recommended that it was the best new tea flavor and did not seek his approval as she jotted it down on her little notepad before striding away. It was rather good, he admitted.

Clouds blocked the sun as Itachi unconsciously nuzzled into his long sleeved shirt. It was late September. Fall was arriving in Konoha far quicker than usual. Soon, the leaves would start changing colors before plummeting from their branches.

Itachi sensed a familiar chakra presence heading his way and looked up. He met ivy eyes. He could see her inner turbulence of approaching him or not. Itachi was glad she smiled and walked over to his table. She was holding several files to her chest. She was wearing a standard Konoha black shirt with a grass-green haori with the word 'medic' written in kanji on the back, similar to Tsunade. Itachi ruled the black skirt she wore was too short and too tight, and wondered how she could walk properly in it. But it did perfectly display her slender legs that–

"Good morning," Sakura greet with a bright smile that Itachi reciprocated to the best of his abilities.

"Would you care to join me," Itachi asked, as words came out faster from his mouth before his brain could stop and analyze them.

She looked uncertain at first before she nodded and sat down across from him and put her files on the table. She stared the scroll in Itachi's hands, probably noticing the Intelligence Department seal. "What are you reading?"

"Current events in the Land of Lightning."

She nodded in understanding. Her hair gently flew as the wind picked up for a quick second. Itachi tried to ignore how lovely it made her look. "What are you reading?" Itachi indicted the files Sakura put on the table with his eyes.

"Oh these?" Sakura pointed to the files, "These are just patient files. I was heading to the hospital. Shishou said she wanted to see me at nine."

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "You're early."

"I wanted to finish my morning checkups and rounds before I met her." Sakura shrugged like it was a normal occurrence for her to attend meetings an hour and half early.

Itachi admired her dedication as a medic. She was extremely hardworking and diligently carried out her work as a healer – a part of him scoffed at the thought of her recent actions. He almost felt that she was good that made up for all the bad he committed. His whole life Itachi was trained to be the best shinobi, the best fighter, the better opponent, the stronger adversary. He was a killer. But Sakura was a healer. Whereas he trained to kill, she trained to save. She lodged just as many hours in the hospital as he did on the training field. He held the utmost respect for not only Sakura, but also every medic in general.

Growing up, if Itachi had a choice, he would have liked to train under Tsunade to become a medic. He knew, however, the clan elders would rather stab themselves than let the Uchiha heir become a healer, after Itachi had demonstrated his prodigious talents as a shinobi.

"What are you drinking?" Sakura asked, staring at his drink.

"Buba buba mango herbal tea, the waitress recommended it," Itachi answered ignoring Sakura's light laugh.

"Can I try?" Sakura reached for his fruity drink and took a sip before he could answer. Itachi tried to ignore the way her lush lips enclosed around the straw and the gulp that ran down her throat. "This is really good. I didn't know you like girly drinks." Sakura laughed again disregarding the glare Itachi threw at her.

On cue, the waitress appeared in front of the two nin with a smile on her face. "Would you like to order anything?"

"Yes please, can I have what he's having?" Sakura smiled at the brunette girl.

"Coming right up."

Sakura leaned closer and put her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her hands as she gleamed at Itachi. "So, why are you running away from your clan's elders? Isn't it against some Uchiha law to disobey the elder's wishes or something?"

Itachi narrowed his eyes at the medic who had twinkle of jibe in her eyes. "Or something."

Sakura pouted at the lack of information and leaned back against her chair. "Sasuke mentioned something about you failing to show up to clan meetings. It's quite irresponsible on your side, if you ask me."

Itachi tried to stop the smirk that forming on his lips but failed miserably at the irony. "I think it's quite irresponsible to purposely fail a shinobi's psyche evaluation." The adorable pout returned to her lips.

"That's not fair. I was looking out for you," Sakura crossed her arms, "Besides, it wasn't an easy feat to accomplish."

"If I may ask, how did you do it?"

A smug smile replaced the pout. "I'm not telling you. Besides, I don't know what you're talking about."

Itachi let out a rare laugh. She was denying the whole situation. At least they were at a point where they could joke about the ordeal. Itachi felt relaxed. There were very sparse moments when he could sit with his shoulders down and sparser moments with whom he could do it with. It was usually Shisui or Sasuke, when the latter was not brooding, or his Okaasan.

"So, what's you're favorite season?" Itachi raised an eyebrow at her randomness in which she shrugged in response. "I'm trying to get to know you better."

"I like winter."

"You look like a winter kind of person, although I would've guessed you like spring. You look like a spring kind of person too. My favorite season is fall," Sakura rambled, "The leaves changing colors, the rain, the smell of autumn. I love it all."

Itachi scrunched his nose. "I have allergies during spring."

Sakura's face lighted up, as Itachi thought she won some kind of jackpot. "Me too! My eyes get really watery and itchy. Dealing with spring became easier after I started training under Tsunade though. She taught me a trick to make your eyes itch a little less. I actually don't like spring that much, other than my birthday is in the spring." Itachi did not know anyone else who could have been as bouncy as Sakura was when talking about allergies.

The brunette waitress came with Sakura's drink. Sakura smiled and paid for her drink as her lips quickly attached to the straw and gulped, completely unaware of the effect it was having on the Uchiha sitting across from her.

"My birthday is also in spring."

"I know, June 9th right?" Itachi slightly tilted his head and gave her a questioning look. She had his birthday memorized. It sent unknown feelings down his throat. "I have your whole file memorized. I have Naruto's and Sasuke's too. Mostly all my teammates, and rookie nine."

"Ah."

Sakura took a long sip of the drink before pursuing the conversation with the quiet Uchiha. "So, are you going to be hiding in this café for the rest of the day?"

"I will be devising a plan to skip the clan meeting scheduled for tomorrow."

Sakura laughed at his unusual sarcastic remark. She took another sip of her buba buba mango herbal tea before standing up and grabbing her files. "I should go now. I don't want to be late doing rounds. And if you want to avoid the elders, or really anyone, there's a room in the library, on the fifth floor by the medical section. There's a certain pattern of chakra you have to send in the doorknob to open the door, but once you do, the walls are chakra sealed. No one will be able to sense you in there. Goodbye Itachi," she sent him smile and a wave goodbye before heading off.

Itachi smiled to himself. She was quite the schemer. Sakura had called him by his first name. He could feel his Okaasan smile and giggle at the scenario. Itachi did not care what Sakura called him, although he rather enjoyed she calling him by his first name, his Okaasan pushed Sakura to call him 'Itachi', much to Sakura's chagrin. It was nice to hear Sakura say his name without his Okaasan passive aggressively forcing her.

Itachi closed his scroll. Maybe he would visit the room Sakura mentioned. He started to stand up as Shisui jumped in front him, wearing a face full of worry. Itachi immediately became alert.

"The elders called an emergency meeting," Shisui started. Itachi's Sharingan automatically activated to what Shisui said next. "Mikoto-san was poisoned."

* * *

><p>It took every fiber in his body and all his might not to storm out of the room and to the hospital, where his Okaasan was being treated. The only reason he was sitting with the pestering elders was the comfort of knowing Sasuke was with their Okaasan and that Tsunade, Sakura, and Shizune, the best medics the world had to offer, were treating her. He still felt that as her son, he had a duty to be by her side. Itachi felt a ball of anger form in his stomach, as he tried to focus on the conversation before him.<p>

"This is a act of betrayal! We must act now!"

Itachi took a deep breath in to calm his nerves before finally adding his notion to the mix. "This is not an act of betrayal by Konoha."

"And how would you know that son? This is not the first time the village has pointed their fingers at the Uchiha. You were too young then to remember anything."

After Shisui had informed him of the crisis that just unfolded, the two cousins sprinted to the emergency meeting. His Okaasan had woken up and started her usual morning routine of preparing breakfast for her family. She had made tea with the usual ingredients found in the cabinets in their kitchen. When she took a sip, she fell to the ground within minutes throwing up blood. It was Sasuke that had found her unconscious in a pool of blood on the kitchen floor with blood stained on her clothing and dripping down her mouth. It took him three seconds to register what happened, after ruling out that this was not a genjutsu, and noticing the broken teacup by his mother's body before he alerted his Otousan. His Otousan instructed Sasuke to take his mother to the hospital as he was going to call a meeting with the elders.

When Itachi walked into the large clan meeting chambers, the elders had stared at him suspiciously and demanded to know where the heir was at the time of the incident. They were covering every track, but it still felt acidic to Itachi that he would be a suspect of poisoning his own mother. He would be just at thorough if he were the elders. Itachi smoothly informed them he was with Sakura at Iro's Café, and they could ask her if they were still suspicious. He ignored the way they looked disapprovingly at Itachi's answer; probably assuming he was pursuing the medic. Itachi knew that the elders did not support the Uchiha heir courting anyone out of the clan but that was irrelevant at the moment. He was not even courting Sakura.

Itachi sat next to his father as the elders started the assembly. He could see from the corners of his eye that his father mirrored his anxiety. The creases below his Otousan's eyes seemed deeper and longer as his body was tense with stress. His whole life, his father was stern and uncaring. But at the moment, Itachi saw the love his father had for his mother. His Otousan never looked so shaken up.

His mother was poisoned from the tea she drank. She had been preparing that tea for the whole family. Whoever was responsible was targeting the whole Uchiha main family. Itachi shut his eyes, as his Sharingan subconsciously activated at his thoughts, trying to deactivate the dojutsu. The thought of his family falling prey to such devious acts infuriated him. The thought of Sasuke poisoned spiked his breathing. His Okaasan was unfortunately the one who intercepted the mysterious executioner's plan.

An image of his family laying dead on ground brought a wave of sorrow and gloom to Itachi. Itachi pushed the image and feelings it brought to some dark corner of his mind. He did not have to commit those acts and he felt grateful to the Sandaime. He still had his family. He still had Sasuke. He still had all the pressure.

Tension between the Uchiha clan and the village grew stronger with each day. The two parties were in unison in cooperation before the Nine-Tail's attack on Konoha. After the Konoha council suspected the Uchiha clan to be behind the attack that took the lives of many civilians and shinobis including the Yondaime hokage, the Konoha council had slowly started isolating the great clan. Itachi was just a child then, but after the attack, Itachi lost all of the very little innocence that remained within him.

His prodigious skills were put under great scrutiny under the clan. He was forced to train every day. He was put on a genin team by his Okaasan's pleading, but the clan grew impatient and moved Itachi up the ladder. Such gifted abilities could not be wasted on D-ranked missions. Itachi realized that every step he grew stronger, he lost a little part of himself. He hated the life of a shinobi. He loathed the tension between his blood family and his people that shared the Will of Fire. He especially abhorred that he was the bridge between the two factions. But he stood sturdy as a bridge. He was serving the village.

The elders sent Itachi into the ANBU instead of him pursuing a path into the Konoha Police Force in hopes of spying within the inner circle that ran the village. Instead, Itachi spied for the village. The tension had been so thick that his clan had started planning blueprints of a coup d'état against the village. Itachi had taken the information to the hokage, knowing that a coup d'état would weaken the village, allowing room open for another village to attack. It would lead to a Fourth Shinobi World War. Seeing the damage the Third Shinobi World War brought, Itachi hated the idea of warfare and conflict. It was that moment when he concluded that he would never forgive himself for being a shinobi.

The Konoha council had wanted to take drastic measures regarding the clan. The Sandaime was completely against any adverse actions and firmly shut down any of the council's notions. The Sandaime had gone to his father to come up with some kind of resolution. He had not informed about Itachi's role in the matter. Fugaku had agreed that peace between the two groups was the better option. The Uchiha clan was given more freedom and the scrutiny upon the clan was removed.

Danzo who had been leading the council's radical endeavors was extremely displeased with how the Sandaime had handled the situation. He stated that no matter how much negotiating the hokage and the Uchiha could do, the Uchiha would always end up betraying the village. Danzo officially resigned from the council and went to create an underground black ops division controlled solely by him. To appease Danzo from doing anything rash, the Sandaime had recognized Root as an official unit within Konoha whose purpose was to provide domestic security.

The clan elders, like Danzo, felt unresolved with the ceasefire. They knew that the village would still look upon the clan with distrustful eyes. They had happily shook the Sandaime's hands in public but felt great antipathy towards the village in private. The clan elders also started looking at Itachi with wariness.

He had been acting strange – accepting mission that would require him to stay away from the village for vast amounts of time, starting to skip clan meetings. The elders had assigned Shisui to spy on Itachi. His cousin had told Itachi about the elder's wishes out of the loyalty he had for his cousin. The elder's skepticism doubled when Itachi and Shisui's both awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan suspiciously after the death of Shisui's parents. Despite their caution and wary, Itachi was still the Uchiha heir nonetheless. He was still expected to bring glory to their clan. Most of the elders had been delighted that Itachi activated the Mangekyo, as it would make him a stronger shinobi.

They had started focusing on Itachi more intently afterwards and it had been getting harder to avoid them. For years, they had started pushing Itachi into politics. Some of them even wanted the Uchiha heir to be titled the next hokage, considering the Sandaime's age. It was a position of power that Itachi had outwardly denied wanting. When their efforts for hokage had gone southwards, they had pushed Itachi to marry. He was twenty-three when they first suggested marriage. They had given him the liberty to choose a wife but grew impatient and started planning an arranged marriage. His father had been married at that age and they wished for Itachi to continue that trend. Matrimony was still the kunai that Itachi was dodging from.

"We should consult with the Sandaime," one elder stated.

Another elder stood up and slammed his hands on the table. "We've been consulting with the Sandaime for years! We have achieved nothing. The Sandaime has expressed willingness for a ceasefire but his followers have not. Do we really expect to come winning if we continue this way of thinking? They will shove us to the edges of this village until we no longer are a part of it!"

A few nodded in agreement was heard throughout the room.

"Don't be stupid Isamu," a stern, feminine voice broke, "We can't go marching out with our Sharingan blazing."

"Then what should we do, Nori, I suppose you have solution planned out," said Isamu mockingly.

Itachi frowned at Isamu's tone. Nori was the only female in the Uchiha council. She was the only elder that he admired and respected, not because she was not power-hungry like the rest but because of her possession of the Will of Fire. She too, like Itachi, believed in peace between the groups and was a secret pacifist. She did not endorse the radical ideas of some of the clansmen.

Nori sighed and stood up. She gracefully walked out of the room as other elders watched her retreating form in disbelief. Itachi could almost feel the words Isamu was going spat out. Itachi stood up from his seat and retreated out of the room in the same manner, much to the pique of the remaining elders.

The meeting now ran a little under three hours and they had come to no agreement. They had congregated to discuss the failed act of poisoning but babbled on about reigniting the coup d'état. Itachi was not partaking in that discussion. He was going to the hospital.

Itachi darted to the medical center and sensed Sasuke's chakra on the fourth floor. He made his way to his Otouto. Sasuke was pacing up and down the hallway. His body language screamed concern and unease with tension that plagued the younger Uchiha. Itachi controlled the emotions that were burning inside him for the sake of Sasuke. Sasuke looked up to his approaching brother.

The look on Sasuke's face nearly broke Itachi's heart. Sasuke displayed emotions that Itachi never wanted his younger brother to experience. It was a bit selfish of Itachi to wish that, let alone foolish. Sasuke was not a child anymore. As a child, Sasuke had always been animated and cheery. It was agonizing to his brother display such pain. Itachi looked over Sasuke's shoulder to the sleeping blond teammate.

Sasuke shrugged his shoulders as Itachi's unspoken question. "He wanted to come."

Mikoto loved Naruto, '_more than she loves me'_ Itachi remembered Sasuke complaining when he was younger. She had always pestered Sasuke to bring his team to their home more often. Itachi admired the strong bond that Sasuke shared with his teammates and was actually quite jealous of it. It was quite rare for a genin team to continue working together after they were promoted to chunin. It seemed that the younger generations were sticking together, he mused.

"How's Mikoto-san?" Shisui asked, as he appeared behind Itachi, no doubt that he left the meeting right after Itachi.

"Shizune-san informed that they should be done within the hour," Sasuke replied.

The three Uchiha waited for news about the Uchiha matriarch. Two hours passed before Tsunade walked out of the operation room. She looked exhausted. She was still wearing her scrubs that were covered in blood, which sent anxious waves down the Itachi's spine. She opened her mouth before noticing the laying blond on the floor. She kicked Naruto's leg as he jerked awake.

"Owwww, what was that for Baa-chan?" Naruto pouted as he grabbed his leg in pain.

"Don't lay on the floor brat! You're blocking the way for doctors and medics to get around!" Tsunade scowled, a vein throbbing on forehead. She looked back to the three Uchiha, "Mikoto is fine. We've extracted all the poison from her body, but she is unconscious at the moment. She'll need to stay in the hospital for at least two more days until we create an antidote for the poison."

"Can we go see her?" Shisui asked.

Tsunade nodded and gave them Mikoto's room number Mikoto was assigned to before heading away. Itachi saw a flash of pink exit from the OR and quickly streak in the opposite direction. A part of him wanted to chase her and thank her for saving his Okaasan but Itachi walked away with the others to wait for the nurses to bring his mother.

The room was already guarded with two ANBU members. The matriarch of the Uchiha clan would be held in a top secured room with twenty-four seven surveillance. He knew the clan would want nothing less. Two nurses pushed a gurney with an unconscious Mikoto on it. Itachi fisted his hands. Someone had done this to his sweet Okaasan.

Sasuke turned to him with a hard face. "We're going to find who did this," he stated. Itachi nodded it response. Yes, they would bring justice to whoever committed this act.

"Mikoto-sama will wake in a few hours. She'll be highly drugged due to the extant of the internal damage she suffered," one of the nurses explained.

The two nurses quickly left, leaving the three Uchiha plus Naruto alone in the room. They did not leave the room for several hours, until Shisui and Naruto left to bring back food for the group after the noises Naruto's stomach was making started bothering Sasuke. The two brothers sat on the chairs across their Okaasan in silence. Shisui and Naruto returned with food as the four ate in silence before the two left again as the sun started setting.

It was almost ten at night before Mikoto started shifting. The two brothers jumped out of their seats and leap to their mother's side as she blinked several times, registering her surroundings. A wave of relief ran through Itachi as Sasuke mirrored his relieved state. Their Okaasan was fine.

A wide, unnatural smile graced Mikoto's mouth as she stared at her two sons. "Tachi, Sasucakes, my two beloved kids."

A faint smile adorned Itachi's lips and he noticed Sasuke's brows scrunch at the nickname that would never escape him. Mikoto was ok.

"I had the loveliest dream," Mikoto started with a wide grin before she frowned at her two boys, "Then I realized that I birthed two goofs." Sasuke visibly started choking as Itachi resisted the urge to mirror his brother's appalled expression. His mother had been awake for no more than a minute and she was already scolding them.

Her upset frown quickly turned into another smile. "I have the greatest idea." Oh, his Okaasan was highly medicated, Itachi realized. "Sasucake," Mikoto pointed, "you and Sakura get married." Sasuke started choking again. "Oh, she has the most exquisite eyes. She's a great medic, she told me I was going to be all ok."

Mikoto closed her eyes for a few moments. Itachi opened his mouth to ask how she was feeling but his Okaasan cut him. "You know what, if Sasucake and Sakura get married, the two would bite each other's heads off. Sasucakes wouldn't be a caring husband. He has no social skills. Sakura would need someone that talks to her."

Sasuke looked at Itachi with bewildered eyes that showed emotions ranging from shock to wounded. It was not everyday when their Okaasan insulted Sasuke's social skills. Itachi smiled at Sasuke, indicating that Sasuke should close his jaw and focus on their Okaasan's health. "I talk to her," Sasuke grumbled under his breath.

Mikoto looked at her eldest son with a grin and pointed at him. "You." Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Marry Sakura," Mikoto ordered.

"But Itachi has no social skills," Sasuke unnaturally complained as he pointed an accusing finger at Itachi.

"Tachi is gentle and sensitive. Sakura needs that."

Itachi rubbed his neck. His Okaasan was _very_ heavily drugged. "Oh look, it's Tsunade-san, lets ask her about Sakura."

Tsunade walked into the room with a clipboard in her hand, taking note of Sasuke's grumpy face and Itachi's uneasy expression. Her eyes shifted to the Uchiha matriarch who had a wide grin on her face. The drugs were working, Tsunade noted.

"Want to know a secret, Tsunade-san," Mikoto taunted as Tsunade walked over, "Tachi and Sakura are getting married."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow and looked at the two Uchiha brothers. Even in Mikoto's dopy state, the two brothers took their Okaasan's teasing without complaint. Her eyes observed Sasuke first. He looked thoroughly disturbed but his stance revealed he would was not going anywhere. She observed the older Uchiha next. He was a puzzle but his stance was rather stiff. Tsunade smiled.

"I know, Sakura mentioned a wedding before," Tsunade entertained. She knew Mikoto would most likely not remember anything. This gave her a great opportunity to tease the prodigy and his brother.

Mikoto's eyes widened. "A wedding?" She clapped her hands in delight. "Oh, I've always wanted a daughter, but I got stuck with these two buffoons."

Tsunade snickered before checking her stats. "Look, it's Fuga." Itachi slightly turned to see his father walk into the room. He sat on the edge of the bed and scanned his wife's form. Itachi nudged Sasuke as the two brothers said their goodbyes to Mikoto before walking out the room. Sasuke paused as the door closed behind him.

"My social skills are better than yours."

Itachi snorted at Sasuke's statement and glared at his younger brother as the two started walking. Sasuke was the most stubborn person he knew. Itachi admitted that Sasuke had a closer group of friends than he did. The rookie nine were famous for being a tight-nit group. Though, Itachi highly doubted Sasuke enjoyed going to group outings.

As the two brother walked outside the hospital, Nori had been sitting on a bench as she got up and walked over to the two brothers. Her presence unsettled Itachi. Nori, like most clan elders, did not like leaving the clan compound. She did not really enjoy strolling around the clan compounds either. "Itachi, how is Mikoto-san?"

"She is fine."

Nori had a soft spot for Mikoto, as she was Mikoto aunt. She smiled at the two brothers before making her way inside the hospital. Itachi observed her retreating figure with narrowed eyes. She waited for the two brothers to leave his Okaasan's room before making her way into the hospital. Itachi tried to come to conclusions, but it was hard considering the clan meeting earlier in the day. Exhaustion started consuming Itachi. He did not know how tired he was. But he could not sleep knowing that his Okaasan's health was not ideal.

"Whoever poisoned Okaasan meant to poison all of us," Sasuke stated. Sasuke was more observant than Itachi gave him credit for. In Itachi's head, Sasuke was still the innocent little child who would always ask him to train. It always startled Itachi every time he realized that his baby brother was not a baby anymore.

"Ah."

The two shared silence once more on their way back to the compound. It was a hectic day. It had started rather nice, as he enjoyed his morning run-in with Sakura and the buba buba mango herbal tea. From there, his Okaasan was poisoned, a possible assassination attempt on the Uchiha main family, and the clan elders had expressed an inkling for retaliation against the village. They did not even know if the village ordered such an assignment. Itachi knew that the Sandaime would never order such a thing.

His head started to hurt as Itachi felt a migraine forming. He looked at Sasuke. "I have to complete a task." Sasuke nodded in understanding. He knew Itachi would not be able to sleep tonight. It was better to let his brother settle out his troubles on his own than tell him what to do. Sasuke bid farewell as the two brother parted ways.

He needed silence. Itachi knew the second he entered the Uchiha compound he would be swarmed with the elders.

Itachi walked down the empty street, truly feeling ill at the day's events. Shisui had always joked that Itachi was frail and gentle behind his superior, prodigy complex. Itachi avoided conflict and to know that his clan was starting consider brining their resentment to life unsettled him just as much the poisoning of his Okaasan. He would have to inform the Sandaime about this, no doubt, but he could not predict how the Sandaime was going to react to this news. If he were in the hokage's shoes, Itachi did not know how he would handle the situation. He did want to think about the situation anymore.

Lost in his thoughts, Itachi found in front of Konoha library. It was one of the biggest buildings in Konoha, after the hospital and hokage building. The large range of books made it one of the most extensive libraries in all the villages. The library was broken into many parts and sections, ranging from civilian to shinobi books. It was eight stories high, designed in traditionally Konoha architecture. Itachi remembered his Okaasan bringing a grumpy Sasuke to the library when he was younger. Sasuke hated reading.

Before Itachi could ponder why he was at the library, his legs pushed forward through the doors and he found himself on the fifth floor. A faint smirk adorned his lips. Maybe he would take Sakura's offer about getting away from everybody. The fifth floor majorly stored medic textbooks. Itachi sighed. Sakura said a door by the medic section. It was not helpful information, but then again, she probably did not think he would take her advice. Itachi activated his Sharingan and scanned the floor. A room that was shielded by a light covering of chakra popped out. It would be nearly impossible to sense the chakra by ordinary eyesight. Itachi made his way to the room and stared at the doorknob, which almost gave him a headache. Even with his heightened eyesight, it would take hours for him to open the door.

Sakura's chakra control was something extraordinary. Maybe the chakra pattern was the same as the one as her office in the hospital. It was worth the shot. Itachi had copied her chakra pattern when she opened the hospital room connecting to her office about a year ago. He inserted his chakra into the doorknob, using the same pattern Sakura used.

He twisted the doorknob and entered the room. He inspected the room. There was a table in the middle with six chairs tucked under. Rows of shelves filled with books adorned the room. A window let across Itachi let moonlight in. This would be a place Sakura would hide out in.

His head throbbed, cutting Itachi short from his thoughts. He rubbed his forehead. He made his way to a bookshelf and sat down on the floor leaning against the books. It had been a while since he got migraines this bad. Itachi did hear the door creek open as a figure walked inside.

"Itachi?"

Itachi's eyes snapped open with the Sharingan as he stared at the visitor. It was only Sakura, who harbored a concerned look. She was carrying stacks of books and scrolls, which she gently put on the table and walked towards him.

"Are you feeling ok?" she asked, her voice laced with worry. He was not the one she should be worried about. It was his Okaasan that she should be focusing on.

"Ah."

Sakura sat down across from him on her knees as she drew chakra to her hands as she brought them to his temples. Itachi instantly sighed in relief. Her chakra seeped into his head, leaving a trail of coolness. The first time Sakura inserted her chakra into him to heal, Itachi almost panicked at how calm and soothing her chakra felt. It was a ripple of tranquil and alleviation. Every shinobi had a unique chakra signature. Sakura's chakra was quite fitting as her occupation as a medic.

Itachi opened his eyes and glanced at the medic. She had changed out of the scrubs he last saw her in and into her usual attire, minus the haori. Her eyes were tired, as she had spent hours in the OR saving Mikoto and probably hours in a lab analyzing the poison to create a antidote. She bit her lip as Itachi's gaze instantly fell downward at the moment before quickly closing them as he realized his actions.

"You need to rest," Sakura softly stated.

Itachi opened his eyes and looked into her eyes challengingly. "You are the one who is tired."

Sakura pouted before releasing her hold of his head as she moved and sat next to him. "I'm not tired."

Itachi understood. Physically, she was worn out and almost drained of chakra. But mentally, he knew that she was just as bothered at the day's events as him. He knew Sakura deeply cared for his Okaasan and his Okaasan completely adored Sakura – if his Okaasan's exclamations earlier weren't proof enough.

"Okaasan woke up," Itachi started, not knowing is Sakura knew the recent information.

"Really?" Sakura sighed in relief, "That's good. The poison we extracted took much longer than we expected. It did a lot of damage to her organs. The poison almost acted like acid, it burned everything in its way."

Itachi clenched his jaw. His stomach churned at the thought of his sweet Okaasan swallowing acid. He saw Sakura turn to look at him from the corner of his eye.

"Mikoto-san is going to be alright. I promise."

Itachi smiled at her promise that had already came true. "I know. She called Sasuke socially inept."

Sakura laughed and Itachi decided he rather liked the sound. "At least her reasoning skills weren't damaged."

"She told Sasuke to marry you."

Sakura laughed harder at his statement as she grabbed her stomach and almost turned over. "We would end up killing each other." Sakura loved Sasuke. But she was not in love with him. She loved him like a brother she never had and Itachi knew that Sasuke, as well as Naruto, had over protective tendencies when it came to Sakura. When Sakura first started joining team eleven on missions, Sasuke had tried to cryptically convince Itachi that Sakura was not a good enough medic to go on ANBU missions. Itachi just nodded, as he knew Sasuke would receive reprisal from his 'not good enough medic'. Sasuke came home the next day for dinner with a black eye.

The two shared silence for several minutes before Sakura turned her body to Itachi. "You didn't eat anything since morning."

"Ah." Itachi did not know if Sakura was asking or stating. He watched her get up from her spot, ignoring that short skirt, and walked over to where she placed her stacks of books. She grabbed a bento box that went unnoticed by Itachi before she walked back over and sat across from him.

"You're lucky I brought two pairs of chopsticks," Sakura smiled before handing him a pair and opening the bento box.

Itachi blinked several times to himself. He never shared food with anyone before; it was usually Shisui trying to steal the last sushi roll whenever they went to Shisui's favorite sushi restaurant. That did not count though. Hunger was the last thing on his mind. His Okaasan's life was in jeopardy. The very thought made his hunger disappear, but staring at the fresh food before him, Itachi remembered the emptiness in his stomach. He grabbed the chopsticks from Sakura's hand and gave a quiet thanks.

"I'd say you should take better care of yourself, but that would be hypocritical of me," Sakura laughed as she plopped an origiri in her mouth.

Silence quickly enveloped the room, before Sakura started laughing. Itachi threw a questioning look. "I just had a thought," Itachi inwardly grimaced. His Okaasan had a thought too. He silently braced himself for words to come out of her mouth, "If you and Sasuke were fruits, you would be a cucumber because you're always cool and collected and Sasuke would be a chili pepper because he's hot headed."

Itachi smirked at her randomness. It was an apropos comparison. Sasuke was a hot head and he himself was composed. Sakura shifted her legs, as Itachi refused to acknowledge the quick flash of blue that hid under her skirt or how smooth her legs looked in the dim lighting.

"I have question," Sakura asked, as Itachi motioned for her to continue with his eyebrows, "how are operations different between hunter-nin and ANBU?"

Itachi turned to face Sakura. Hunter-nin? Was she considering becoming a part of Konoha's hunter-nin? The thought unsettled Itachi. Sakura was also a kunoichi. He had to keep reminding himself that. She was a kunoichi as well as a medic.

"Shishou mentioned earlier that I should consider joining that organization for a few months," Sakura explained, "I don't know much about it, I thought you might have some understandings of their managements."

Itachi closed his eyes, not liking the thought of Sakura becoming a hunter-nin. "They operate solely for the village, where ANBU team may get assignments commissioned from other villages," Itachi started, "Hunter-nin usually work independently or in a group of two. They target missing nin from the village and the Land of Fire."

They also have a higher mortality rate than ANBU members, but Itachi did not mention that fact. They committed the dirty work for the village. It was simple in all honesty. They hunted down threats to the village and brought back their dead body as proof of completion of the task. Hunter-nins were usually hardened, older shinobis who had years experience under their belt. It was not a lifestyle that many nin wanted to follow, as every mission for hunter-nins was an assassination.

Itachi wondered why Tsunade would want Sakura to join such an organization. Her skills concentrated around the hospital and being the medical-nin on missions. She would not benefit the village by being a hunter-nin. He did not want to be a hunter-nin. Sakura was a medic, not an assassin. The very thought of her going on continuous slaying missions did not sit well in his stomach.

A soft giggle pulled Itachi out of his thoughts. She was observing him as he ate. Her expressive eyes held a mixture of mischief and humor. Her lips turned into a sly smirk. "When we were younger, Sasuke claimed that you ate little bunnies and drank their blood," she rubbed her chin with her finger, recalling the memory, "he also mentioned you drank your victims blood from missions."

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Did he now." Sasuke was always an emotional child, for an Uchiha at least. Itachi thoroughly underestimated Sasuke's imagination. "What if I told you he tells the truth?"

Sakura's sly smirk grew more cunning, as Itachi braced himself for a crafty comeback. "Then I would ask you if would be willing to share," she leaned a little closer, as if she was telling him a secret and did not want anyone else to hear. Itachi tried to ignore her floral scented hair and her full lips. "I hear drinking blood is good for your complexion."

Sakura started laughing at his expression. Itachi felt himself frown, but did not realize the extent of how repellent and humorous his expression must have been. The pinkette in front of him was grabbing her stomach as she tried not to fall over from laughing too hard. He pressed his lips in a grim, hard line as he grabbed the last origiri. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. At least someone found him hilarious.

"I didn't know you were capable of banter," Sakura teased. Itachi ignored her remark. He was fully capable of banter. He just did not find the use of meaningless chit-chat. Sakura rubbed her chin again as her teasing smirk appeared, "No wonder you have such skin."

Itachi did not know if he should scold her for the comment or thank her for the compliment. So he relied on his usual grunt, and went back to the food Sakura shared with him.

Their relationship changed. It was not the same as it was when she first joined team eleven on missions. It was less businesslike and more convivial. Itachi would not have believed that he and Sakura would be sharing banter if you told him two years ago. She definitely would not be teasingly accusing him of drinking human blood and eating bunnies either. He liked the new companionship. Itachi started admiring Sakura the kunoichi to Sakura the individual. He did not know exactly when or how it happened, but he accepted it.

Itachi watched Sakura stand up again and grab the books and file she put on the table before sitting down next to Itachi in her original spot. She opened a particular file and handed it to him.

"This is Mikoto-san's file. It's all the information we garnered from the poisoning today," she explained. Itachi grabbed the file and began reading the material, "the poison must have been blended in one of the ingredients Mikoto-san uses to make tea. If we figure out where the ingredients were bought from, we'll narrow our search," Sakura paused as she peaked a glance at Itachi, "But that's not my job. My job is to find an antidote."

She was a medic at heart. Itachi watched her pull another file and hand it to him. "This is all the information we collected from analyzing the extracted poison."

"Why are you sharing this information?"

Sakura stopped flipping through a medical textbook and looked at Itachi with a small smile. "I won't be sleeping tonight, and I doubt you'll be able to either. Why not put our restlessness to good use?"

Her answer was simple but Itachi knew there was more behind it. She was providing him comfort in a way that she knew that he would appreciate it. From the numerous missions and interactions with him, Sakura knew that Itachi hated not being in control. He had extreme self-restraint and the situation that unfolded today pushed him out of his comfort-zone. She knew that Itachi loved his Okaasan just as much he loved Sasuke. Itachi was capable of killing hundreds of opponents with minimal effort but he was not capable of walking into the OR and saving his Okaasan. It made him feel vulnerable. He despised that feeling so Sakura decided to involve him in her research.

"Two heads are better than one, right?" Sakura smiled up at the dark eyes that observed her.

"Ah."

Itachi noticed the way her smiled faltered at his response as she resisted the strong urge to roll her eyes. She was a ball of emotional reactions. Her face became neutral before gave him a comforting smile as he felt Sakura grab his hand.

"We'll find antidote," she assured and gave his hand a squeeze before slipping her hand out of his and focusing on the textbook on her lap.

Itachi's hand felt empty. It was a cold feeling. He threw a glance at the pinkette before continuing to read the files she handed him. She was, once again, looking out for him and it sat perfectly well in his stomach.

They did not know how long they stayed in that room studying the files and textbooks. They had gone from sitting on the floor to on the chairs to back on the floor. The table was filled with scattered papers and open books. Hours passed before Itachi ordered that Sakura go home and rest. She protested but he had none of her objections before she stated she would leave only if he left also. Itachi voiced his disapproval in the glare he gave her but she stubbornly held her ground.

He conceded after a long staring contest as the both of them left the room to get some rest for the remainder of morning. She won the unacknowledged battle. She felt rather proud to beat the mighty Prince of Darkness in a staring contest. The two decided that they would meet again tomorrow afternoon in the same room, as Sakura would spend her morning in her lab at the hospital with Tsunade. The two parted ways early in the morning.

Sakura walked home, hugging the books in her arms tighter. Her haori would have been useful in the chilly morning weather but she left it in her office back at the hospital. The streets were quiet and empty. Sakura pondered if she liked the peaceful lonely streets better than the usual noisy streets.

She decided that she liked the open, more-than-usual communicative Itachi. She did not like the schoolgirl butterflies she got in her stomach when he observed her with his dark eyes or his playful responses. Her inner begged to differ. It was rather nice working alongside him in her field of expertise, not that she held his hands and took baby steps with him as she researched to find a remedy for the poison. He was helpful and provided a new perspective in finding an antidote.

**_I'm sure he could provide many new perspectives._**

Sakura almost tripped as she slapped her inner. Sakura sighed in defeat. There was no way her inner could be this outrageous. She huffed at her inner battle. She did not need any new perspectives from Itachi. She was perfectly fine on her own. Her inner was crazy.

Really crazy.

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><p><em>Now if the cold, pale, light in your eyes<em>

_Reaches those horizon lines_

_You know not to leave her_

_Fever_

- The Black Keys "Fever"

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><p><strong>Hello all! Three chapters in less than two weeks! I'm on a roll! This chapter was actually very easy to write (please ignore the mistakes, as I haven't edited it), it only took me a few days.<strong>

**I'm aiming to write a story when Sakura and Itachi already have some foundation of a relationship. It might seem a little unusual for Itachi to be this chatty with Sakura, but I imagine that since the two have been working together for almost two years, he must be kind of comfortable with her presence in his life.**

**There was a lot of Itachi-Sakura interaction this chapter and surprisingly I loved writing it – especially when Itachi was drinking his buba buba mango herbal tea (I have no idea where I got that idea from). I especially love writing about grumpy Sasuke. The events in this chapter may seem confusing and random but everything will make sense in future chapters, especially up to the climax where I swear I'll have you guys shitting in your pants.**

**To **'_ABRIEL_' **– Yes I watched the last season of Greys, so good, so sad. The show is a roller coaster ride for my emotional stability. I'm on a Suits and Covert Affairs binge at the moment.**

**Thank you again for all your lovely comments, favorites, and follows. I'm so glad you're enjoying the story so far. Hopefully it's getting better.**

**Until next time :)**

**~im-rite-here**


	4. Festival

Chapter 4 – Festival

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><p><em>Moment of honesty <em>

_Someone's got to take the lead tonight_

_Whose's it going to be?_

- Alicia Keys "Unthinkable (I'm Ready)"

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><p>Sakura finally understood why Tsunade was nicknamed the legendary sucker. Her shishou really did have the most unfortunate luck. Sakura felt a little guilty, but the pinkette could not stop the grin that was plastered on her face. It only grew wider by the second. Luck was not something the two medics shared. Sakura was extremely lucky at the moment.<p>

It was a good day.

It was a really good day.

For the first time since she the Academy days, Sakura could finally enjoy the fall festival. She was not going to be put on rotational guard and security duty or hospital shifts this year, as per bet with Tsunade. Ino was going to be so jealous.

Konoha was famous for many things – its strong economy, its medical force, its diversity – but it was exceptionally well-known for its fall and spring festivals. The coming festival was popular among all the villages. Planning for the festivals started anywhere from two to three months before by a committee solely dedicated to organizing the fest. It was a week of constant celebration. Extra lantern lights illuminated the village during the nighttime. The streets were adorned with game booths and food carts. There were puppet shows for the children and plays for the adults. The children and adults alike wore traditional attire. The festival would end with a highly decorated firework display.

It was a time when Konoha would have surplus of tourists who came to experience the famed festival. It was a great boost for the economy but security always proved to be a hassle – from mediocre to serious threats from mercenaries and enemies. All shinobi of all rankings were assigned at least three days worth of rotational security duty. When Sakura started training under Tsunade, her surveillance duty shifted to hospital duty. It never stopped to amuse her how many stupid injuries would come through the hospital doors during the festival times.

The festival was something Sakura always enjoyed. Her fondest memories of her childhood were when her Okaasan took her to the festivals. The two would roam the colorful streets every night of the festival, aiming to play every game at the booths and taste every food they could get their hands on from the numerous food stands. Her Okaasan would always take her shopping for kimonos or yukatas, depending whether it was the spring or fall festival, a few days before and buy her several of the traditional dresses to wear. She would have a stack of new kimonos that kept piling in her closet. Sakura never really enjoyed wearing them when she was younger. It was when she met Ino that Sakura's tomboyish personality rotated to the more girly side.

It was a tradition that Sakura continued to share with Ino after her Okaasan passed away. It was Ino's idea to continue the kimono shopping custom. The pig was a shopaholic and after being promoted to chunin, she also started dragging along Hinata and Tenten. It had become a ritual for the four friends to pick out kimonos together. Sakura enjoyed the guaranteed girl time she had with the other female rookie nine members, especially since it was harder for all of them to hang out, as they got older and busier.

The four friends were meeting up at a recently opened kimono shop that Ino exclaimed had the '_best new collection of kimonos'_. Sakura smiled because she had not seen Tenten since they shared a mission together two months back and Hinata was always busy with clan business or missions with her team. She smiled because she knew her Okaasan would be elated that Sakura continued the kimono shopping ritual. She smiled because she was out of hospital duty during the entire duration of the festival.

Tsunade had bet that Sakura could not find an antidote for the toxin Mikoto was poisoned with in under a day. Sakura smiled and bet she could. Tsunade had snorted claimed that Sakura was delusional. The two shook hands and betted on it. Loser had to take the winner's shift during the festival. The poison was extremely intricate, and Sakura knew that there was no way she would be able to find an antidote for the poison under a day by herself. But Itachi was helping her. She knew that she was technically cheating but Tsunade never stated that Sakura had to find a cure by herself. She could not tell Itachi to stop helping her after the two spent hours researching because she and Tsunade made a bet. That would have been rude. Sakura knew that even though she won the bet, she would somehow be pulled into the hospital in one way or another. She did not who would survive without the other – her or the hospital. She needed the place just as much the place needed her.

Sakura walked down the path to the kimono shop Ino instructed to reach at noon sharp. The pinkette walked up to the instructed store located in the middle of the shopping district and strolled inside. Sakura's eyes wandered around the colorful store. There were kimonos everywhere – on shelves, racks, and mannequins. Ino was a pig, but she definitely had a talent when it came to shopping.

"Forehead, you're late!"

A vein throbbed on Sakura's forehead. "I'm early."

"You're usually earlier, so according to Sakura-time, you're late," Ino teased as she stuck out her tongue at her best friend.

Sakura walked over to Ino and Hinata with an evident scowl, glancing at the blonde's arm full of kimonos. There was no stopping the pig once she started. Sakura smiled and greeted the Hyuga heiress who looked as poised and put together like always. A part of Sakura envied Hinata's elegance but her envy receded when she realized that she could never be as refined as the heiress.

"Tenten's running a little late," Ino explained, "that's fine. I picked out a kimono for you forehead," Ino threw a red garment at Sakura, who haphazardly caught it, and pointed a finger to a door in the corner, "go try it on. I think it'll look fabulous on you."

Sakura's scowl deepened as she started walking towards the dressing rooms. She was not even in the same room as Ino for a minute and already the pig was ordering her around. "I can pick out my own kimono pig."

The pinkette put on the kimono and stepped out the room as Ino rushed over with obi she picked out. Sakura stared into her reflection in the mirror. The carnation pink did compliment her without blending in with her hair. The cerise colored obi flattered the kimono.

"You look beautiful Sakura-chan," Hinata complimented.

Sakura was always beautiful, Hinata concluded. Even when she was going through the awkward stages when she was a genin. But Hinata was also going through the same stage. Sakura was temperamental and neurotic – not to Ino's level, no one was neurotic enough at Ino's level. She was obsessed with Sasuke and let her infatuation control her desire to become a strong kunoichi. But after Sasuke defected to Orochimaru, Sakura blossomed. She became a healer, a stronger kunoichi, and a beautiful person. She was no longer the weak third member of team seven, but could walk alongside with her teammates.

Hinata knew a part of her envied the ivy-eyed beauty. Sakura was a strong fighter, but her character was stronger. She was passionate about healing and her precious people. She loved her friends even more than she loved herself. Sakura never put herself first. The medic was selfless to the point where it was going to kill her one-day. Hinata admitted that seeing Sakura blossom into a lovely kunoichi inspired her to do the same. The Hyuga heiress vowed that she would not fall back. She would thrive alongside with her friends. Sakura helped her in more ways than Sakura knew. Hinata would forever be grateful to the pinkette.

"Yeah forehead, you actually look like a girl."

"Shut up pig!"

Hinata giggled at the two's argument. Ino was joking. Sakura was very much indeed a girl – proof from her many admirers and boys that followed her around. Sakura did look absolutely breathtaking in the kimono. She looked like a princess worth millions.

Ino snorted and crossed her arms. "Just telling the truth forehead. Don't need to be so defensive."

Hinata continued to watch the two best friends' interactions. Ino and Sakura were friends for a longer amount of time than they were with Hinata. They shared more moments and memories together. Hinata never had the opportunity to join the kunoichis when they were younger because she was always busy with the clan. They were all on good terms back then, and Hinata concluded that their relationship was only going to go that far. She was thoroughly surprised when Ino and Sakura pulled her and Tenten into a tight knit circle, claiming that the minority gender had to stick together because boys were imbeciles.

She was forever thankful to the blonde and pinkette for forming a strong bond between the four kunoichi. Hinata loved whenever they hung out. It was a nice break from her serious clan and goofy team. She never had close bonds with the females in her life other than Hanabi but the ones she made with Ino, Sakura, and Tenten, she would be forever appreciative for.

A familiar chakra walked into the kimono shop as Tenten rushed to the three female rookie nine members. "Sorry I'm late guys, I was training with Lee and Neji in the morning and our sparring ran a little longer than anticipated," the brunette weapons mistress exclaimed as she huffed out of breath, "Sakura-chan, you look amazing!"

A smile broke out on Sakura's face as she thanked the brunette. Ino wrapped her arm around Sakura's shoulder and grinned. "She's a doll isn't she?"

Ino laughed at her best friend's scowl. Sakura looked beautiful in the kimono that she picked out. Ino had decided a long time ago if her kunoichi or florist careers did not work out, she would become a kimono designer and Sakura would be her living, breathing mannequin. Her pink hair went well with almost every color.

"So Tenten," Ino beamed with a mischievous smile, "how's Neji?"

The tops weapon mistress's ear turned red as Tenten turned around to examine the kimonos to hide her flush. "He's fine."

Ino grinned at the other two as Sakura rolled her eyes at Ino's teasing. Tenten and Neji were not together, but a fool would have even figured out that the two teammates have been fooling around together for months behind people's back. It was only time when the two would come out with their relationship. "Shika's fine too. I'm sure Naruto's fine, and," Ino narrowed her eyes and pointed at Sakura, "Sakura's alone."

Ino watched Sakura crossed her arms and huff. "I'm not alone. I'm fine."

"Whatever forehead. You're missing out on some great stuff, like date nights and company and sex–"

"Pig!"

The three kunoichi laughed at the blushing Sakura. "Ok I'll stop, you're probably getting it from somewhere. You're in an unnaturally good mood." Ino threw Sakura a look that Sakura ignored. Ino was being annoying. Sakura was not going to cave into her friend's mindless teasing. She was perfectly fine. Being single was no big deal. She was far too busy to date anyways.

Ino turned her attention to Hinata. "Okay, we need to pick something out for you that going to have Naruto drooling. Maybe something orange?" Hinata blushed and opened her mouth to speak but Ino hushed her, "That boy is blind and deaf when it comes to relationship, a lot like Sakura. Hinata, no more blushing and dodging the inevitable. We are going to have that baka crawling to you."

Right on cue, a blonde jinchuriki darted into the little kimono shop with a brooding Uchiha behind him. He scanned the store before spotting his teammate and rushing over to the group of girls.

"Sakura-chan! You have to come with us!"

Sakura turned around and raised an eyebrow at her teammates, who looked slightly nervous, terrorized, and disheveled. "What happened?"

Naruto swallowed as he glanced at the circle of intimidating females and pointed accusingly at the Uchiha. "It's all the teme's fault!"

"It's not my fault dobe," Sasuke responded glaring at Naruto.

"You didn't listen to Mikoto-san!"

"Hn."

"It's not my fault!"

Sakura rubbed her temples at her bickering boys. She was starting to get a headache. They were never going to stop. They could and would argue for hours if someone did not stop them. Sakura opened her mouth to scold her boys for interrupting the girls' hangout/mediate their argument but shrieked as she felt herself being lifted up and thrown over the blonde's shoulder.

"Sorry for interrupting Sakura-chan but we have places to be." With that, the three team seven members disappeared in a poof.

"Hey she didn't pay for the kimono!" a sales associate shouted across the store.

Ino scowled at the spot the teammates disappeared at. The four girls barely got time to see each other and now the two buffoons from team seven show up and snatch Sakura away. Those idiots. Why did Hinata like Naruto? Why does Sasuke have a pole up his ass? A thought popped in Ino's head. Sakura did not get a chance to enjoy the festival last year because she was swarmed at the hospital. The pinkette did not even have time to go kimono shopping with the rest of the girls. Since Sakura was once again not present for their kimono shopping ritual, Ino would just have to pick out a few kimonos for Sakura. A devious grin spread across the Yamanaka's face.

"Oh don't worry, I'm paying for it," Ino responded. Sakura really was her doll. Ino knew that whenever Sakura and her would go shopping, she would just dress the pinkette. The medic hated whenever Ino treated her like a mannequin, which would ruin the pinkette's shopping experience. Guess Sakura would just have to deal with it.

Sakura's head spun as she realized she was being transported somewhere. She was really going to give it to her two idiot teammates. They had no right barging into the shop like that and whisking her away. They had done this to her on many occasions and were not blind to the fact that she absolutely hated when they pulled a stunt like this. She was not a bag of potatoes that they could transport whenever they wanted.

Seeing solid ground only mere seconds later did Sakura realize they reached their destination. She was still on Naruto's shoulder. Moving her leg a little, Sakura accidently hit Naruto's sensitive, tickle spot as he suddenly jerked and dropped Sakura to the ground.

Landing right on her butt, Sakura groaned in pain. "Na-ru-to."

Starting to apologize, Naruto noticed her attire and grinned. "Hey you look really pretty Sakura-chan. What's the occasion? Doesn't our Sakura-chan look pretty teme? Compliment her."

"Naruto!" a foreign voice filled the room, "Be gentle with Sakura-chan."

Sakura scanned her surroundings as she realized she was in Sasuke's home. Her eyes landed on Mikoto scolding Naruto who was rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. The matriarch's attention landed on Sasuke.

"I know I didn't raise an irresponsible son," Mikoto reprimanded.

Sasuke opened his mouth to rebuke but closed it, as his Okaasan would just continue to chide him if he responed. It was a bit irresponsible on his end, Sasuke agreed, but it was equally Naruto's fault too. Naruto was just as irresponsible and careless as he, maybe even more. Definitely more.

After Mikoto was discharged from the hospital, Mikoto urged Sasuke to invite Sakura over for dinner one day to thank the medic for saving her life. Mikoto was extremely fond of Sakura, as Sasuke remembered his Okaasan saying on multiple occasions that she would love to have '_Sakura as a daughter'_. It was when he and Naruto went grocery shopping with his Okaasan a few days ago that she said to bring Sakura over for lunch on Wednesday. It was a simple task and he told Naruto to tell Sakura because they lived closer to each other than Sasuke did.

The dobe must have apparently forgot to tell Sakura about lunch, because when the two showed up for lunch on Wednesday without their pink haired teammate, Mikoto had chastised them. She rarely got mad but when she did, she was extremely terrifying. She stated that the two were not going to be fed lunch until they fetched their sweet teammate. The threat of his Okaasan retaining food from them was just as menacing as Sakura threatening to punch them.

Sakura would be mad that the two showed up and transported her from whatever she was doing but she would get over it as soon as she digested his Okaasan's food. He peeked at Sakura from the corner of his eyes. She was on the ground pouting from the drop. He and Naruto would definitely get an earful when they got out of here.

"Oh Sakura-chan I hope you're alright," concern filled Mikoto's voice as she helped the medic up, "You look beautiful. Oh isn't she just charming in the kimono." A 'yup' and 'hn' was heard from the room. "Sakura-chan, you look lovely. Why don't you wear kimonos more often?"

Heat rushed to Sakura's cheeks as straightened the kimono and smiled at the beautiful Uchiha matriarch. "Thank you, Mikoto-san."

"Just Mikoto dear, how many times do I have to remind you? Now lets go the table, Sasuke, Naruto, please go to the kitchen and bring out the food."

Sakura let the Uchiha matriarch guide to the dining room. Mikoto was beautiful. Sakura felt like a rotten tomato or a dead flower next the Uchiha. She walked with grace, she talked with grace, and Sakura could not help but to envy the elegant way that the Uchiha matriarch carried herself with. Sakura felt almost barbaric next to Mikoto.

"I never had a chance to thank you for saving my life," Mikoto started with a sincere smile on her face. She grabbed Sakura's hand and squeezed it. "I am indebt to you forever."

"Oh it was nothing," Sakura start feeling a little embarrassed, "Just doing my duty as a medic."

Sakura was so lovely. Mikoto admired the medic's dedication to healing. Sakura was such a darling. She kept Sasuke and Naruto under control – somehow – and still had time to save lives at the end of the day. Sakura was a sweet girl who did not know how much worth she had. Mikoto knew that Sasuke was overprotective of the pinkette, along with Naruto and Kakashi and even Tsunade. Sasuke was a reserved child, and knowing how important Sakura was to Sasuke, Mikoto knew the momentum of Sakura's significance. She was also Itachi's teammate and even though Itachi would never admit it, Sakura was very important to her elder son.

Mikoto smiled at the thought. When she brought up inviting Sakura for dinner when she was having dinner with her sons a few days ago, both her sons paled. She had then coerced her sons to tell her why they reacted that way. Sasuke choked on his food and looked at Itachi to provide an answer. Itachi provided a smooth answer. He was hiding something. Itachi was one of the best shinobi but he could never lie to his Okaasan. She would see right through it. Realizing that her two goons were not going to tell the truth, she finally relented.

"You saved my life Sakura-chan, it is a big deal. Now tell me something," Mikoto whispered, "Why are Sasuke and Itachi acting weird?" Sakura raised her eyebrows in surprise. "They've been acting strange, especially when I bring up your name."

"My name?"

Mikoto nodded before leaned back and deviously smirked, imitating Ino's cunning grin. "I was originally thinking that you and Sasuke were caught doing something inappropriate by Itachi but Sasuke would rather stab himself in the eye than even think of doing anything like that with you. So I concluded that it must have been you and Itachi, and Sasuke must have caught you two in the act. Sasuke is really protective of you."

Sakura's jaw dropped. Mikoto just accused her of having a fling with Sasuke and Itachi. She did not know what was more thought provoking, Mikoto telling her that she was having an affair with her sons or how gracefully Mikoto said it. "Haha, I don't know what you're talking about Mikoto-san."

"Just Mikoto dear," Mikoto reminded.

Her two boys brought out the food to the table and joined the females. Sakura was grateful for their appearance. She did not want Mikoto to continue her interrogation of which Uchiha brother she was sleeping with. From all of Sasuke's complaining, Mikoto was quite the matchmaker. Sasuke – not Itachi because Itachi was always on missions and the clan elders would be irritated – had been a victim of her constant matchmaking. His mother had set him up on multiple blind dates. It was something she and Naruto would never let Sasuke forget.

The food was absolutely delicious. Sasuke was spoiled with such mouthwatering food prepared for his every meal. Her own Okaasan was a great cook and even better baker. Sakura admitted that her own cooking was not the finest, but she could make Konoha's best tea. There was no arguing that statement. She was a decent baker too. Whenever she and Ino would have a sleepover when they were younger, the two would spend the whole night baking and gossiping.

She listened to Mikoto's stories of when Sasuke was younger and thought grass was green rice and always came home with his mouth stuffed with grass. Sakura and Naruto shared a look, knowing that this was another story that they would never let Sasuke live down with. They talked about training and Sakura mentioned her trainings with team eleven, to the groans of Naruto and Sasuke. Mikoto was the most warm-hearted person Sakura knew. It was rather nice seeing her tease Sasuke and scold Naruto to chew with his mouth closed and compliment her. Sakura did not want to see Mikoto as a patient in the hospital ever again.

Sakura thanked Mikoto for the meal and volunteered to help the Uchiha matriarch clean but was quickly shooed out. "I'm sure you have more important things to take care of, especially since you didn't know that we were having lunch on Wednesday together," Mikoto explained sweetly, as she threw a glare at the two boys. "Sakura-chan, please come back soon. Anytime you want, I'm always here."

Sakura smiled and hugged Mikoto before walking out of room with Sasuke and Naruto. As soon as Mikoto disappeared from sight, Sakura turned so quickly to Sasuke that Sasuke almost activated his Sharingan to keep up with her speed. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the fuming Sakura. Apparently that was the wrong move because she poked him in the chest with her finger rather hard.

"You," Sakura spat, "What did you say to Mikoto?"

"What–"

"Don't look confused Sasuke, she accused me of sleeping with you and/or Itachi."

Naruto almost fell backwards before glaring at the Uchiha. "You touched our Sakura-chan! You bastard!"

"I didn't touch–" Sasuke started to protest before turning to Sakura with an expression mixed with appall, shock, and confusion. "I didn't say anything."

Sakura crossed her arms. "Liar."

"Yeah! Stop lying teme! How dare you do that to Sakura-chan? She's our teammate. She trusts us." Naruto pulled Sakura into his arms and protectively patted her head much to Sakura's annoyance.

Sakura sighed. "You definitely did something. Why would I ever sleep with you or Itachi?" If Sasuke were anybody else, his face would show something similar to hurt and dismay. Sasuke had a strong fan base. He was used to girls throwing themselves at him. Though he would never imagine Sakura doing that, her explicitly stating her dislike towards him in that area definitely bruised his ego.

"Yeah, Sakura-chan would never sleep with you or your psycho brother."

"My Onii is not psycho."

"He failed his psyche test."

Sasuke opened his mouth to rebuke but was close off by a fourth voice. "Who failed their psyche test?"

Team seven turned their heads to face Sasuke's Otousan with crossed arms and a faint look of displeasure.

Naruto sweat dropped. "Uh, um… Shikamaru. He failed his psyche exam," Naruto quickly muttered, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. Sasuke almost rolled his eyes at the pathetic cover up. His Otousan turned his attention to Sasuke, who unconsciously straightened his posture.

"Konnichiwa, Fugaku-san," Sakura greeted with an innocent smile on her face. Sasuke almost rolled his eyes again at Sakura's response. His Otousan's stern expression softened a little bit. Sakura had that affect on people. Her charming smile could even compel an adversary to turn sides. She constantly used her charm to her advantage whenever and wherever. His Otousan was another victim to her devious yet enchanting smile.

His Onii walked into the room behind his Otousan and glanced at the three teammates before stopping at Sakura. Sasuke wanted to cover his pink haired teammate from his Onii's eyes. Yes, she looked rather attractive in the kimono she had on but that did give his Onii the right to run his eyes over Sakura like that.

"Sakura," his Otousan greeted, "Special occasion?"

"Um, no, not really," Sakura sheepishly replied, trying to ignore the dark eyes that were boring into her presence. She tried really hard but her attempts were futile as her eyes made their way to Itachi. His face was unreadable but his eyes were heavy with a foreign look. She quickly looked away, not wanting to get caught by others.

Fugaku, however, did not miss the silent eye exchange the medic and his son swapped. His jaw gently clenched as he noticed Itachi's face soften and fill with quiet warmth as he stared at the pinkette. He silently disapproved of Sakura's knee jerk reaction to Itachi's obvious gaze. Fugaku almost narrowed his eyes at the behavior of the two shinobi and tried not to come to any hast conclusions.

Fugaku nodded as Mikoto walked into the foyer, sensing the presence of the two Uchiha. "Ah Fugaku-kun, Itachi, you just missed lunch with Sasuke's team," Mikoto's soft voice filled the room. She noticed Itachi secretly throwing glances as Sakura as she internally smiled, "And you missed our lovely Sakura-chan wearing such a gorgeous kimono."

Sakura felt heat rise to her cheeks as five pairs of eyes focused on her. "Ah, there's no need to–"

"Come, twirl for us Sakura-chan," Mikoto exclaimed.

Sakura stood there clearly embarrassed and uncomfortable with all the attention on her. She really rather not twirl but the Uchiha matriarch would have none of her stillness as she practically spun Sakura with her own hands. "Doesn't she look just like a doll?" Mikoto gushed. If she had a daughter, she would dress her up everyday. Instead, she got two stoic and grumpy sons.

Sasuke and Naruto shared a knowing look before Sasuke suddenly grabbed Sakura and pulled her as Naruto pushed her out of the room. "Thanks for the food Mikoto-chan!" Naruto thanked before helping Sasuke to get their sweet teammate out of the prying eyes of the Prince of Darkness.

Sakura let her boys pulled her out the Uchiha household and onto the streets like a ragdoll. She was still suffering from chronic discomfort of the situation. After a few more steps she snapped out of her daze before jerking her arm out of Sasuke's grip. Her anger clearly returned as she glared at her teammates.

"What are you doing?"

"We were saving you from teme's psycho older brother! Did you see the way he was looking at you?"

"Don't insult my Onii dobe."

Sakura rolled her eyes at her teammates. They were unbelievable. She ignored the butterflies that flew in her stomach at Naruto's comment and started marching away. She loved them to death but she could take care of herself. She could deal with Sasuke's psycho older brother and she could deal with the embarrassing situation Mikoto put her in. She started marching away, ignoring Naruto's wails of protest and Sasuke's grumps.

Sasuke and Naruto looked at each other, ready to blame the other for their Sakura-chan marching away.

* * *

><p>"I mean, I'm not that helpless genin anymore. I can take care of myself."<p>

Ino raised a blonde eyebrow at her pink haired friend. Sakura had so nicely brought take out dinner for the two as a thank you for buying the kimono for her. Sakura, however, was angrily stabbing the sushi and eating majority of the food. Ino sighed. Sakura was an emotional eater. The girl had a metabolism that would make any girl jealous but it was not healthy the way she was abusing the poor sushi.

Ino tried to listen to her ranting friend, but Sakura's tirade was growing old to her ears. Naruto and Sasuke were overprotective. They had apparently followed her to the hospital after having lunch at the Uchiha household because they feared the Uchiha heir would follow their dear Sakura to the hospital and corrupt her. Sakura threatened them with needles before they finally left but when she left the hospital later in the evening, her two comrades were waiting for her outside to escort her back to her home.

Shikamaru and Choji did the same thing, Ino mused. It was not fun. It was demeaning and irritating. Ever since Choji took in a genin team and she started dating Shikamaru, the two calmed their obvious stalking tendencies. With Sakura's team, however, both Naruto and Sasuke were always in the village, thus were always available to stalk their kunoichi teammate.

Ino grinned when Sakura mentioned the reason behind their current stalker-ish trend. Apparently the Prince of Darkness had looked at Sakura the wrong way. Ino smirked. Of the Uchiha heir had looked at Sakura the wrong way. The pinkette looked absolutely breathtaking in that kimono. She picked the kimono. Sometimes Ino wondered if she made the wrong career choice of being a kunoichi. She had far too much talent to just be a kunoichi. Ino did not blame Naruto and Sasuke following Sakura around like a mother hen. Sakura probably had boys drooling when she walked down the streets. Too bad Sakura could not see that.

"Ugh, boys are so stupid," Sakura grumbled as she popped a sushi roll into a mouth, "I'm telling you pig, they're going to wake up without teeth tomorrow morning."

Ino sighed once more and stood up straight. "So how was Itachi looking at you again?"

The medic started choking. Ino patiently watched her friend struggle. Sakura grew pink in the cheeks. "I don't know! I don't care!" Ino crossed her arms. Sakura's emotions were so obvious but she was too stubborn to acknowledge them. Maybe all she needed was a little push in the right direction. Ideas started popping into Ino's head as she started scheming her next moves.

"Pft… whatever you say forehead. I'm sure you have no feelings whatsoever. Now shoo, I need to close the shop."

Sakura threw one last glare at the blonde before stabbing a sushi roll, plopping it into her mouth angrily, and stomping out of the flower shop. The pig was unbelievable. She came to the shop to release her frustrations of her two overprotective, idiot teammates but he pig barely listened to a word she said. Sakura wondered why Ino was her best friend in the first place.

It was dark outside. Sakura felt unusually physically tired and her agitation was sure to keep her up for a few more hours. She spent her morning in the hospital with a short-lived hang out with the girls before her boys kidnapped her. After having a wonderfully prepared lunch by Mikoto, Sakura spent the rest of her afternoon spiting her following teammates and teaching at the medical school.

Sakura decided that it was definitely all Naruto and Sasuke's fault. If they had told her before about the lunch, she would not in this predicament. She would have scheduled kimono shopping according and would not have to walk around all day in a beautiful yet obstructing kimono all day. If she were wearing her normal attire, she would not have Mikoto putting her in awkward situations and Itachi staring at her awkwardly and random men on the streets gawking at her making her feel awkward and her students acting strangely awkward. The whole situation was awkward.

Many Konoha citizens wore traditional attire everyday, usually normal civilians. More recently, many shinobi were starting to wear customary clothing when they were not on duty. But Sakura felt weird wearing such formal clothing so typically. And she felt uncomfortable with all the stares she got. It made her feel self-conscious with all the attention. Sure, she was walking blob of pink today but their gazes made her feel uneasy. Plus, it was unconventional for her to wear a kimono in the hospital.

Her two goofs were not making her anger any better. They were following her cautiously around like she was about to jump off a cliff. Sure she shared Tsunade infamous temper but she was not that lunatic. She would never jump of a cliff. And they should have been doing something more productive than shadowing her every step. It only fueled her anger. They even had the audacity to come back after she was finished teaching her classes. Sakura took a deep breath and warily smiled.

She would not have it any other way.

She knew she would be more irritated and annoyed if they did not follow her around like jealous ex boyfriends. Sakura would never admit it but she rather liked having two shielding teammates. They drove her to the end her sanity but she loved every one of their protective behaviors. Well, not all of their behaviors. She could live without the constant stalking.

The sun was setting, spreading shades of pink, orange, and yellow in the sky. The pinkette admired the beautiful atmosphere. The view would be magnificent from the hokage mountains. Sakura decided to visit a little hidden garden she stumbled upon by accident a few years ago. It was left of the Shodai's head, almost at the end of the mountain range within Konoha. Due to its location, it was probably one of the easily missed beautiful spots in Konoha.

Sakura had found it by chance. Tsunade had ordered her to collect a specific type of plant that was found on top of the mountains for medical herbs. Although the garden was filled with exotic, vivid flowers in the springtime, the flowers were slowly starting to disappear with the coming colder weather. There was a small patch of empty grass surrounded by trees. A traditional wooden gazebo with an irimoya styled roof sat on the edge of the mountain, providing the best view of Konoha. It was half surrounded by trees, thus shielding it from prying eyes. The hidden little gazebo was probably built during the Shodai's time, judging from its architecture.

The undisclosed garden was another place Sakura would run away to whenever she would want to get away from people. She would bring her medical scrolls and study the materials while glancing at the beautiful view. She even fell asleep a few times in the garden and gazebo. It was a shame, really, that no one knew of this place. It was breathtaking to take in the view it provided of the village. It was always eerie silent compared to the hustle of the streets down below.

Sakura pushed chakra to her feet and began making her way to her secret sanctuary. It had been months since she last set foot in her haven. Sakura grumbled that her efforts of moving were being hindered by the kimono. Stupid kimono. It was not good for anything but aesthetics. She had loved wearing them in her childhood, but she was not the strong, independent woman who made fun of gender stereotypes in the past.

She was too smart and talented to be restrained by a mere article of clothing.

It was her stubbornness taking over her thoughts. How did Hinata do this? Hinata was always in clan meetings and clan events and affairs. Sakura highly doubted that the Hyuga heiress would walk in shinobi sandals and a jounin vest. Sakura gained newfound respect for the Hyuga and every female that were forced to wear such obstructing materials of clothing of a daily basis.

When the pinkette reached the garden, she almost gasped at the almost set sun. She glared at the kimono. Dumb kimono. It took a ridiculous amount of time to reach the garden. The garden looked the same, minus the flowers, as the last time she was at the hideout. Sakura approached the empty gazebo as she stepped onto the wooden pavilion.

Summer had officially ended. The coolness of fall brought chilly nights to Konoha. At least the impractical kimono brought some warmth. Guess there was some purpose to the kimono. Sakura walked to the wooden railings and plopped her elbows down and gazed out at the village. Konoha really did look twice as pretty during the nighttime. The sun disappeared behind some lands and brought dark serene to the village. Little spots of lights adorned throughout the village. Dots of stars decorated the sky and replaced the bright sun. It was calm and tranquil. Any worry and disconcertion seeped out of Sakura and was replaced by a sense of peace. She really should come here more often.

Sakura heard a quiet ruffle and quickly sensed a chakra presence behind her. The small flash of paranoia of attack disappeared as Sakura realized who the chakra presence belonged to. Shinobi really were the most paranoid people on the planet.

"What are you doing here?" Sakura softly asked, her eyes never leaving the picturesque scenery before her.

Sakura felt them approach behind her and settle to her left. A deep, seductive octave reached her ears. "I could ask you the same."

Sakura felt herself smiling at the response. Of course he would not answer her question. "This is my secret hideout. I found it a few years ago." She wanted to childishly tell him to leave since she found the garden first but held her tongue. Sakura did not want to ruin the calm atmosphere with her sarcastic tongue.

"I found it when I was a genin." Sakura almost rolled her eyes. Of course he did. He was Uchiha Itachi after all. He knew everything. Guess he won the 'who found this place first' battle.

She turned to face her tall, dark, mysterious Taichou. He was leaning against one of the pillars a few steps away from her. His dark eyes were taking in her appearance and boring the thousandth hole into her soul. His face was expressionless but held a rare sense of calm. He looked rather nice when he did not seem like he was carrying a million pounds on his shoulders. He almost looked normal, like an ordinary shinobi.

Sakura turned her face back to the village, her mood turning somber. There was no such thing as an ordinary shinobi. Once an individual chose to follow a path of a shinobi, all normality was thrown out the window. It was not normal to learn strategies to kill another being at a young age. It was not normal for the word protect to mean kill. It was not normal to have a job that required surveillance and assassination. It was not normal to have an average life expectancy of twenty-five. The shinobi lifestyle was not normal.

There were many times when Sakura thought she would make a fine baker or a civilian doctor. She did not need to follow the shinobi path. Her Okaasan disapproved of her decision to enroll in the ninja Academy when she was younger, but relented knowing that Sakura was headstrong and stubborn and would not change her mind.

Sakura could feel Itachi's poking question at her sudden mood change. She took a deep breath, her eyes continuing to gaze at the village. "Sometimes I wonder why we chose to become a shinobi. We walk down a cold and dark road."

Even with the space between them, Sakura could feel Itachi tense. "You're a medic."

Sakura chuckled. Her snicker a little too clear and weightless compared to her dark thoughts. "A medic-nin," Sakura corrected, "They say the best shinobi are medics. Who knows how to kill a person better than the anatomical experts sworn to healing the body?"

Itachi's frown filled her senses. She could feel his disapproval. Itachi stared at the pink haired medic and wondered when her unperturbed emotions turned solemn and gloomy. He observed the profile view of her face as her soft hair gently moved with the wind.

He had escorted his Otousan to Konoha's general congress meeting. The congress consisted of clan and district representatives. Since he was the Uchiha heir, his Otousan wanted him to gain more experience of the responsibilities of the head of the clan. Itachi distasted clan meetings, and was not looking forward to attending congress meetings as well. But he had no choice. He was clan heir and all these duties fell on his lap the day he was born. They spent the morning and early afternoon surrounded by other representatives. He noticed that the hokage struggled to hide his contempt for the meeting too.

When the two Uchiha reached home after the meeting, they ran into team seven. Itachi was never a fan of surprise but seeing Sakura in a kimono was a rather good surprise. He knew his feelings for the medic were turning into something more than just comrades, so he repressed those affections and pushed them into a dark corner of his being. But seeing her in that state made his stomach pool in an unknown warm feeling. She was wearing a gentle pink kimono that complimented her features. He had seen her wearing kimonos on multiple occasions but none of the previous times had derived such a feeling from him.

She had locked her eyes with his for a moment and he felt some gravitational pull to retain that eye contact. He must have been staring at Sakura for a while because Sasuke took notice and quite literally pulled her out of their home.

He had trained for the rest of the day, trying to get that picture of Sakura out of his head. He did not know why her image was fixated in his mind. Sakura looked beautiful in the kimono. There was no questioning that. He wondered why she would be wearing such attire and tried to come up with reasons why wearing a kimono was an impediment for a kunoichi but he always came to the conclusion that he rather liked seeing Sakura wearing such traditional attire.

Itachi pushed those thoughts away as he continued to observe Sakura. He had thought that he would go to his favorite quiet spot atop the hokage mountain, but found the very person that was haunting his mind there. He did not know what to expect from Sakura being there, but he definitely did not expect her doleful, realistic comments.

Her face was serene and clear, but her mind was filled with trouble. It was strange seeing the pinkette so forlorn. Her usual cheery character was replaced by a deep cynicism. Her witty comebacks fell prey to cold truths.

"We kill other human beings because it's our mission. We are our enemies' enemy. They just wear a different symbol on their forehead protector. We're essentially the same people fighting for the same cause, we're just on opposite sides. What really makes us any different or better than them?"

He crossed his arms and closed his arms. He snorted at the thought of Tsunade wanting to assign her as a hunter-nin. Sakura was not speaking out as a kunoichi or a medic, but an individual. Her words were true. Itachi never dwelled too much on what he did for a living because it did not sit well in his stomach. He could never swallow the fact that he diligently took another life because he was assigned too, because they would do the same to him if they got the chance. They were all the same except for the symbol on their forehead protector.

Itachi really did not know to answer her question without bluntly stating the cold, hard truth. It was selfish of him, but he did not want to burst her bubble of innocence. She was a kunoichi and been on many missions. She has killed many times without blinking an eye. She was equally guilty of the same crimes he committed. But there was still a part of her that was untarnished by the unsympathetic lifestyle she lived. Maybe it was the medic side of her, Itachi mused. Her natural instincts were to save a life, not take it. But there was something more than tangible skills within the pinkette that remained unblemished and innocent. Maybe that was why his foolish brother and his equally silly teammate were always protecting Sakura.

"We're not normal," Sakura continued with a soft chuckled as she looked at Itachi. Her big expressive eyes falling to Itachi's neck as she followed the scar until it disappeared inside his shirt. Her eyes darkened.

* * *

><p><em>This was her third mission with team eleven.<em>

_The adrenaline rush of being part of such a highly decorated team still had not worn off. The eighteen-year-old kunoichi remembered the first mission she assisted with the team. She was so adrenalized that she got a total of four hours of sleep throughout the five day long mission – although she did completely crashed when she stepped into her home at the completion of the mission._

_She would have thought that the nervousness and anxiousness would lessen the third time around. But Sakura was just as skittish as the first mission. Sakura sent a silent thanks to kami for her chakra control. She would have completely exhausted all of her chakra by the long and arduous speed her Taichou was making the team travel at. Of course Shisui and Genma were used to Itachi's high expectations during and out of missions – if the team trainings a few days ago were not proof enough. No wonder Sasuke called him the Prince of Darkness._

_The pinkette stared at the figure jumping ahead of her. Itachi moved so gracefully it almost hurt to observe him move so swiftly through the leafless, snow covered trees. She must look like a raging lunatic stomping on the branches compared to him. He should be called the Prince of Perfection instead._

_Sakura unconsciously snuggled into her mask. They were leaving Yukigakure – which was an extensive and difficult journey. Sakura never noticed how warm the mask was before. It was better than having gushing winds and snow hit your face. She had wrapped her red scarf extra tightly around her neck, hoping that it would provide more protection from the coldness. Sakura had specifically bought new gloves for the mission when she found out she would be joining team eleven on a mission in Yukigakure. Her glove collection was just as impressive as Tenten's weapon collection. Tsunade had drilled hands were a medic's most prized weapon and should be kept in the best condition. _

_She wished she wore her warmer long sleeved shirt under the standard ANBU vest though. The weather in Yukigakure was really unforgivable. The winds did not think twice before slapping the traveling shinobi and the snow continued to fall from the sky. It was quite rare to have missions this far out from Konoha. Not many people of the area requested Konoha shinobi and missions were not assigned because of the drastic differences in weather. Sakura promised to never complain about Suna's heat ever again after experiencing Yukigakure's frost. _

_Naruto and Sasuke were completely furious that their sweet Sakura was taking part in another dangerous ANBU mission. They, or really Naruto, had gone on a rant to why she should not be partaking on ANBU missions. After knocking some sense into Naruto and glaring at Sasuke, she ended their complaining. Some support would have been nice. _

_Sakura knew that a part of their discomfort was jealousy. She could not describe how envious she had been of the two when they were younger. No longer was she the weak genin that needed to be protected. She was the first member of team seven to be assigned and requested for ANBU missions. It was a sense of pride – the weakest link was now the strongest one, at least physically. She knew that Naruto and Sasuke were probably better fighters and could beat her if they unleashed their full strength. _

_A part of her wished she was back home with her boys, snuggled on a couch and watching tacky movies or playing card games where the only rule was not to get caught cheating. But she was in Yukigakure, stuck in blizzard. It was summer in Yukigakure apparently. Winters in Konoha were milder than summers in Yukigakure. She longed for the lush environment of Konoha. Sakura blinked her thoughts away as she noticed Itachi halting. The team came to a stop._

_Sakura opened her mouth to ask why they were stopping but closed it as soon as she felt the large sum of chakra heading in their direction. It must be a group of twelve to sixteen jounin or higher-level shinobi. They could run the other way. It would make them look guilty and the other group of shinobi would most likely catch up and the two factions would be forced a confrontation that would potentially result in a battle. They could hide, but there nowhere the team could hide in the wintry desert. Their most sensible option was a direct confrontation. Itachi was good with negotiations._

_Sakura laughed out loud at the thought._

_Itachi did not negotiate. He commanded and people listened. He intimidated people to do whatever his heart desired. She felt three gazes turn to her, as she immediately realized her inappropriate outburst and pretended not to exist at the moment. Great, she was embarrassing herself. It was quite a feat, Sakura reasoned. There were not many ways one could embarrass oneself in the middle of a blizzard. Sakura was one who could. She added that to her lists of many accomplishments._

_The pinkette immediately dropped her dry thoughts as she felt the large chakra group jump in front of her team. Itachi's team, Sakura corrected. He was the boss. She was a temporary medic. Fourteen shinobis stood across from the four Konoha ANBU. Fourteen very fearsome and threatening shinobi. Sakura gulped and hoped that they would not have to fight. The previous two missions were completed successfully and did not result in a battle._

_The fourteen shinobi were wearing light gray, almost white, uniforms compared to their dark uniforms. Their faces were covered with masks similar to Kakashi's but their eyes remained unprotected from the weather. They wore Yukigakure forehead protectors proudly on their foreheads. They each stood like mere clones of each other, their posture straight and menacing. It was hard to tell who was the leader of the group or if they even had any. Unlike team eleven, they did not wear heavy cloaks. They were used to this weather. It was their playground that team eleven was frolicking on._

_Team eleven was at a serious disadvantage. They were not used to the chilly weather, thus automatically making them the weaker opponent. The four had been traveling for almost four hours, which only softened their stamina. Sakura had been sending small amounts of chakra throughout her body to keep her warm from the cold but it still did not help her freezing body. Her chakra was not at its fullest. Plus, they were on foreign lands in the middle of a dead forest. There were not many places the team could hide out at._

_Sakura clenched her fist, trying to bring friction back into her hands. They were her best weapon. She hoped they would not battle, but from the looks of the Yukigakure shinobi, she doubt they were going to let team eleven leave the sight unscathed. It was a pity really. Their mission was a simple surveillance assignment. They had finished gathering intel last night and were traveling back to the port, which was their exit strategy from the Land of Snow. Sakura estimated that they only had a few more hours of traveling to do before they would reach that port._

_"Why are Konoha shinobi here in Land of Snow?" a Yukigakure shinobi asked. His voice was deep and controlled._

_Itachi responded in his deep and controlled voice that always sent shivers down Sakura's back. "We are merely traveling back to port. We do not wish for a confrontation."_

_The Yukigakure that broke the silence looked at one of his comrades and exchanged a look. "There is no reason for Konoha ANBU to be here, unless there was a mission."_

_Sakura blinked any exhaustion and chills out of her system. There was going to be a confrontation. There was no way the Yukigakure shinobi were letting team eleven leave without a fight. Itachi did not have time to respond to the accusation before the fourteen shinobi struck._

_The pinkette did not have enough time to blink before two shinobi popped into her periphery vision. Kunais with explosive tags were thrown her way as Sakura expertly dodged. Loud explosions from the thrown kunai temporarily deafen Sakura. Of course she would be stuck with the ostentatious shinobi._

_A punch caught Sakura off guard as she felt herself flying back before landing soundly on her feet. Her mask cracked as it fell off her face and onto the snow while the hood of her cloak fell back, revealing her pink tresses secured in a side braid. The loon broke her jaw. She immediately healed her broken jaw before observing the now three shinobi surrounding her. The coldness was hampering with her ability to fight properly. She was not going to be caught with her defenses down again. _

_"A kunoichi," one the opponents snickered._

_"With pink hair," another added._

_Sakura scrunched her eyebrows together. If only she got a kunai for everytime she heard that, she would have more kunais than Tenten. They were underestimating her because she was a female with pink hair. It frustrated Sakura more than she cared to admit when she was younger, but as she grew older, she used her '_delicate and frail'_ features to her advantage. Sakura smirked condescendingly._

_"Too bad you won't leave alive," the first shinobi said, a grin obvious under the mask._

_Sakura pumped chakra to her feet and dashed towards the grinning shinobi. She extended her leg as the shinobi jumped from her failed kick. Quickly spinning around, Sakura threw a closed fist at him, which he caught flawlessly. Her smirked widened as her other fist collided with the shinobi's face. The pinkette heard cracking before her opponent flew a good distance away. His skull was severely fractured and beyond repair. His vertebrae was most likely crushed as well, Sakura mused. He would feel immense amounts of pain for several minutes before his eventual death. She did not even use chakra._

_His comrades were observing, most likely. Sakura had to be more careful from now on as she did not have the element of surprise anymore – she was no longer the delicate pink haired kunoichi but an actual opponent. They probably collected that she was a medic nin with super strength. A nin jumped in front of her as Sakura ducked his coming punch. The other nin joined him. They were close distance fighters like her._

_Sakura played defensive as she never got the chance to play on the offensive due to her opponents' constant attacking. After a while of ducking and dodging, Sakura concluded that she really had no choice but to start using her medic chakra against them. She did not like using the chakra she used to heal to kill but she was forced into a corner._

_She would have to be careful of how much chakra she used. If she used up too much she would not have enough to heal the others after and make her way to the port. Sakura quickly glanced around to discern the statuses of her teammates' battles. Shisui had taken out four shinobi easily with his Mangekyo Sharingan and was fighting his own Yukigakure shinobi. Genma was engaged with another two shinobi and Itachi was out of her sight but close by, as Sakura felt his strong chakra._

_Chakra scalpels adorned Sakura's hands. This battle was going end. She lurched forward and began her attacks. Her barrage of kicks and punches did little damage to the shinobi. Sakura concluded that their uniforms were covered with chakra – almost acting like a shield. It was smart to have a layer of chakra covering their forms. It protected them from the weather and acted as a shield when they engaged in a battle. They must have large sums of chakra._

_One of the shinobi pulled a ninjato that was strapped on his back. Sakura did not have much experience using ninjato but she was an expert at avoiding them. She expertly flipped and ducked like Tsunade taught her. A sharp blow to her left side brought barraging pain. The sharp weapon struck her. The shinobi's soft chuckles reached Sakura's ear as she felt a new wave of determination. Sakura pushed the pain in a dark corner of her mind and propelled towards the shinobi. She was going to end this before it continued. She pushed forward, her scalpels blazing sharper than before. _

_After a quick dance of dodging their attacks, Sakura strategically landed a punch on one of the shinobi. They flew backwards as Sakura spun around just as fast and dug her scalpel into the second shinobi's neck. His eyes widened as he choked blood as he fell onto the snow covered ground. Sakura barely had time to register the explosive tag in his hand before she flew backwards by the detonation. She covered her face with her arms that retained little damage thanks to the metal forearm coverings._

_Sakura fell hard onto the snow. She felt herself sink down as the coldness surrounded her. Snow was a beautiful lie. It looked pretty until you touched it. The warmth of her blood that was dripping down her forehead did little to comfort her in the coldness. She was never going on another ANBU mission ever._

_A sharp object came crashing down on Sakura's form as she haphazardly rolled over, barely avoiding the blow. Sakura jumped to her feet, a little disorientated, but in her moment of disarray she felt being grabbed and quickly spun around. She saw a katana speeding towards her. Knowing she did now have enough time to dodge the assault, Sakura pooled chakra to the intended destination the sharp object would contact her. But it never came._

_A flash of black jumped in front of her as she felt herself being pushed back. Sakura steadied herself as she saw her assaulter trapped in her Taichou's Tsukuyomi. She almost felt sorry for the Yukigakure nin. She never experienced the terrifying genjutsu and was not planning to ever be trapped in it. The opponent fell face first onto the snow a few seconds later. Sakura silently sighed in relief. She felt Genma jump to her side and Shisui a few moments after. It seemed like the Konoha shinobi came out on top. She never predicted that Yukigakure nin would make such formidable opponents. No one really predicted that. Yukigakure was a village that was physically isolated from the rest of the hidden villages and did not engage in the conflicts that rose within the other villages. That was why team eleven was assigned this surveillance mission to gather intel on secluded village._

_Sakura opened her mouth to thank Itachi for helping her invade the attack but no words came out of her mouth as she saw the deep gash running from the middle of his neck to below his pectoral. He fell forward as Sakura swiftly caught him._

_Panic began to run through the pinkette. "I need to heal him," Sakura instructed as she started pouring her chakra into the nasty wound._

_"We can't stay out here," Shisui's voice stated, "We need to find shelter."_

_Sakura barely listened to Shisui and Genma's conversation. Guilt pooled into stomach. Itachi was bleeding profusely because she had been careless and caught off guard by the opposing nin. He was paying for her mistake and it did settle well for her. It seemed that Yukigakure nin infused their weapons with their chakra. It did twice the damage a normal weapon would. The gash would take at least an hour to two to heal. _

_It had been by mere luck that the team had spotted a cave twenty miles from their standpoint. Sakura and Genma carried their unconscious Taichou as Shisui led the way. The cave was relatively small but provided the much need shelter. After setting Itachi down, Sakura immediately started working on the gash. She ignored the concerned looks Genma and Shisui threw at her and waved them off when they told her to heal her injuries before throwing her chakra into Itachi._

_It was her fault that Itachi was injured. Maybe she should have listened to Naruto and Sasuke and not accepted team eleven's ANBU invitation. Maybe she was not qualified enough to be an ANBU. Maybe she did not have what it took to be part of the elite group. Today was proof enough. She did not like the useless feeling that was consuming her. She promised to herself that she was going to get stronger so no one would have to risk his or her lives protecting her. She would get stronger so she could take care of herself. Today proved that she was still was depending on others to take care of her. She despised it._

_Sakura lost track of time. It must have been at least an hour and half. The gash was almost healed. All Sakura had to do was close the skin. She stared at the forming scar it would leave. The scar would forever remind Sakura and Itachi of her impotence on the mission. It was her mistake that Itachi would be carrying for the rest of his life. What a great medic was she?_

_Itachi stirred a little before he revealed his dark eyes. Sakura avoided his scrutiny. She did not want to see the look he was giving her. She could already feel it. "I healed the gash, there's going to be a scar though," Sakura mumbled, barely loud enough for him to hear._

_The Uchiha heir sat up, and Sakura did not have it in her to tell him to lie back down. "You were careless out there."_

_Sakura's downcast eyes did little to reveal her agony. Of course he was mad. Why would he not be mad? The irritation was clearly laced in his voice. "Do not accept ANBU missions you are not capable of handling."_

_Sakura bit her tongue trying hard to keep the tears at bay. Itachi watched the pinkette turn her head already noticing her glossy eyes. He felt a pang of guilt of the harshness of his voice. He hated being merciless and rough, but it was a lesson Sakura needed to quickly learn if she wanted to continue accepting ANBU missions. He clenched his fist on his side as she stood up and walked to the other side of the cave. She reminded him so much of Sasuke when he was younger – wide eyed and innocent. A person like her did not belong in ANBU. He watched her quietly ask Genma if he had any injuries and ignored his protest as she began healing him. She was a healer. She should be saving lives at the hospital._

_They needed to get going. Shisui walked over to Itachi and interrupted him, knowing exactly what the Uchiha heir was thinking. "She needs rest. She spent the last two hours healing your injury," Shisui softly stated._

_His cousin sat down next to him as the two Uchiha watched the flames of the fire Shisui set up. "That was harsh."_

_It was harsh. He was harsh. There was no doubting it. Itachi rarely used that tone, but he exercised the perfectly stringent today on their pink haired teammate. "She was careless."_

_"Sakura can take care of herself and heal herself if she can't. It was you who was careless."_

_Shisui was one of the most observant individuals he knew. Of course his cousin would not miss Itachi's anti-heroic act. Itachi was a hypocrite. He knew Sakura was fully capable of taking care of herself and if she did get injured, she could easily heal her wounds. He would not have allowed her to assist on the mission if he thought she was inept. Itachi had jumped in front of her because of his own selfish reasons. He did not want to see her get injured. It was stupid of him but he wished she would have chosen a less violet career. He did not want her in harm's way so he protected her. He knew it was disrespectful and insulting to her as a kunoichi. Itachi had no doubt that she was a talented kunoichi but he still felt the need to shield her. He treated her like a porcelain doll and blamed her for it._

_He flickered his eyes over to Sakura, who was done healing Genma and leaning against the cave wall most likely asleep. Itachi should have thanked the pinkette for healing him. He ran his eyes over her figure. There were dry bloodstains on the side of her head and small bruises on her right jaw. Her light pink hair was loosened but still held together in a messy side braid. The bags under her eyes revealed her fatigue. Her light skin did not glow like normal, but looked ashen and pale. There were more bloodstains on her side. The medic most likely did not heal herself. Itachi knew he was the culpable one behind her injurious form – she had spent hours healing his wounds and not hers. The girl did not belong in the cold, hard life of an ANBU nin._

_Sakura woke up a few hours later with another cloak wrapped around her._

* * *

><p>Itachi clearly saw the rather painful memories run through her eyes. Her face slightly paled. He knew the mission was not particularly a joyous memory for both parties. Things between them after that mission had been a little awkward. Sakura smiled and acted like her normal sparkling self but he knew better than to trust her untroubled smiles. He would catch her often staring at the scar he received from the mission. Her expression was always filled with forlorn and regret when her gaze would bore into the scar.<p>

He watched her eyes follow the scar as she continued observing upward until her ivy eyes rested at his chin before making a stop at his lips and ultimately making its way to his dark eyes. She searched his eyes for something. Itachi would normally look away at the intrusion but he continued to stare into her eyes as she foraged through his.

Sakura's eyes were ivy green. They turned dark forest green when she was deep in thought or angry. They lighted to a bright spring green when she was excited. Her eyes were her best feature but her worst downfall. They expressed everything and anything she was feeling. One look into her eyes and Itachi knew exactly where she stood. Her eyes were an open book that anyone could read. That was why he always came to the conclusion that Sakura had made a mistake when she chose to be a kunoichi. He did not want the purity in those eyes to be corrupted.

Sakura suddenly shifted her eyes and looked back at the village. Her facial expression had somewhat lost its melancholy and gained its sereneness. "This spot really has the most beautiful view of the village."

Itachi eyes never left Sakura's form. Beautiful it was.

Very beautiful indeed.

* * *

><p>Over a week went by since Sakura last saw Itachi. Ten days actually. She was not counting or anything. She was in hospital seeing patients and saving saves like usual and he was probably doing what he normally did. He was most likely training or busy with clan business since team eleven was not listed for any outgoing missions. She knew they were scheduled security posts starting tomorrow night.<p>

She ran into Shisui, who had been harboring a lollipop in his mouth as usual after every time he was treated at the hospital, earlier and he took the opportunity to guilt Sakura into coming to the first ever team eleven festival outing tonight. He had pouted and pleaded with eyes that Sakura could not resist. She narrowed her eyes at his retreating figure. He and Naruto probably exchanged notes on how to pout their way out and in of any situation.

Today was the second day of the festival. She had been stuck in the hospital treating foolish wounds and inflictions that harebrained citizens retained. Tsunade had apparently made a bet after she lost the bet with Sakura – that Sakura would be back in the hospital even though she did not need to be. Sakura rolled her eyes at the thought. Maybe her Shishou's luck was not that unfortunate. No, it was definitely common sense. Sakura could not stay away from the hospital for more than two days even if she was tied up with chakra ropes and transported to Suna.

The first patient that Sakura treated had accidently lodged four kunais into his skull. He was a civilian who merely was trying to imitate shinobis. She spent a good hour repairing brain nerves and closing the four holes on his head. Her second patient was a piss drunk thirty something recently engaged visitor from Kirigakure. He had groped Sakura's behind at least three times before Sakura decided it was much easier healing his injuries if he was unconscious, for his safety and her sanity. Her third patient was the worst. She was a not so sweet little five-year-old girl who came in for a broken leg after she tripped and fell. When her mother was not looking, the little girl would send death glares at the pinkette. Sakura was good with children but her stomach churned from the looks the girl was sending her. Just as Sakura was done healing the girl's leg, the brat threw up on her, conveniently when the mother was not looking.

Sakura had walked down the hallway, claiming that she was taking the rest of the day off, as per Tsunade's lost bet. She had changed her clothes that reeked with throw up before guiltily spending two more hours in the hospital before finally leaving. She had promised the pig that they would get ready together. She did not want to pig taking extreme measures if she did not show up. Ino was a little bit unreasonable.

The pinkette snuggled into her haori. It was mid October in Konoha. The nights were quickly dropping in temperature and soon Sakura would have to exchange her much loved skirt for pants. The leaves on trees were officially turning into shades of orange and red. It was the time period when Konoha would literally be at its most colorful. With the festival going on, Konoha was more vibrant and animated than ever. It was early evening and people were starting to crowd the streets for a nighttime of festivities.

Ino's apartment came into view as Sakura decided not to hop through the window and actually use the door this time around. Just as Sakura was about to knock, the door flew open as Sakura stared into angry baby blue eyes.

"You're late forehead," Ino barked, "and you smell like throw up."

Sakura did not have a chance to respond before she was dragged into the apartment. She saw the lazy Nara lying on the couch, probably asleep, in the corner of her eye before Ino hauled Sakura into the bedroom. How could Shikamaru sleep when Ino was making such a ruckus? The Nara heir had three extraordinary talents – his intelligence, his ability to sleep whenever and wherever, and his patience to put up with Ino.

Ino pushed Sakura onto the bed before grabbing one of her legs and pulling of her beloved boots before doing the same to other leg. Ino pulled Sakura up and took off her haori and tug her shirt of her head.

Sakura flushed at Ino's straight forwardness. "Pig! What are you doing?" Sakura saw Tenten's apologetic glance behind the Yamanaka as Sakura sighed and let her neurotic friend undress her. Ino had no shame. None. Before Sakura could help Ino pull down her skirt, the blonde pulled Sakura into the bathroom.

"Shower. Now. You stink," Ino ordered before slamming the door, leaving Sakura alone as she pouted. This was what she going for helping citizens – people throwing up on her and bossing her around.

Sakura removed her flimsy undergarments and stepped into Ino's shower. The warm water relaxed her muscles as Sakura sighed. She could take showers for the rest of her life. One of the best birthday presents Sakura ever received was a weekend getaway from Ino to the famous onsens of Land of Tea. Ino had tagged along, claiming that she did not trust that Sakura knew how to relax and would come with the pinkette to make sure Sakura did de-stress. It was a much-needed relaxation for the two kunoichi.

Stepping out of the shower, Sakura wrapped a towel around her and carefully dried herself, not wanting to repeat the same mistakes she made not too long ago. Sakura walked out into the room, seeing Ino help Tenten with her hair.

The brunette kunoichi sighed. "Neji has better hair than me."

"Neji has better hair than everyone," Sakura replied, joining the conversation as she walked towards to two girls. It was true. His hair would make any women green with envy, just like Itachi's hair. Sakura resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Why did the men in her life have really good hair? Ino looked over her shoulder and glared at Sakura before throwing a bag at Sakura, who caught it swiftly, and pointing at her bathroom.

"I took the liberty to grab a kimono from your home," Ino instructed as she shoved Sakura back into the bathroom.

Pouting as she was back in the bathroom, Sakura childishly stuck her tongue at the door which Ino pushed her through. The pig was unbelievable. No wonder Shikamaru would disappear for limited amounts of time. If she had to live with Ino, Sakura would take small breaks away from the pig too. Sakura glanced inside the bag. Ino had chosen a navy blue kimono. Sakura did not remember having a kimono like this. Sakura quickly changed into the kimono before stepping into the room.

Ino was adjusting her light violet obi and Tenten was out of sight. "Where did Tenten go?"

"She's meeting Neji and Lee. We'll see them later at the festival," Ino explained, "Now come here forehead and let me fix you up." Ino adjusted Sakura's dark navy kimono and wrapped a golden colored obi around Sakura. "Your hair is going up."

"I don't want my hair up," Sakura stated as Ino rolled her eyes.

"You wanted my help," Ino mumbled to herself.

"You forced me to come, remember pig," Sakura corrected as Ino huffed.

The Yamanaka twisted Sakura's soft hair into a messy side bun and let a few of her hair frame her face. Sakura really did clean up nicely. Her medic friend was always busy with the hospital or missions and barely had time to pamper herself. So Ino took it as her responsibility to pamper the pinkette and remind her that she was still a girl. Ino ran Sakura's lips with some gloss before stepping back and observing her doll. Sakura hated makeup and truthfully, the pinkette did not need any. Her skin was impeccable and clear of any blemishes. Ino would force Sakura to do something with her eyes but after Ino accidently poked Sakura's eyes while applying mascara once, the pinkette did not allow her anywhere near her eyeballs.

Ino clapped her hands together and smiled. "Oh Sakura, you look like a girl."

"Shut it pig."

Ino linked arms with Sakura as the two made their way out of the bedroom. Shikamaru still asleep on the couch as Ino threw a book at his head, which he caught effortlessly. He groaned and sat up and followed the girls out of the apartment. Shikamaru and Ino's apartment was located in populous hub of Konoha that was heavily filled with the festivities compared to Sakura's rather quiet neighborhood.

The hustle of the festival reached Sakura's ears. She had a habit of losing track of time but when she reached Ino's apartment, the sun was still visible but now the sun had disappeared, leaving a trail of darkness. Different noises reached Sakura's ears from sizzling foods to people's laughs to booming music. Her nose was overwhelmed with various sweet and spicy aromas from the food stands. Her mouth salivated at the delicious scents.

Lanterns glossed the streets, bringing light to the dark sky. Sakura glanced around the street, taking in the warmth of people's laughs and enjoyments. Women wore colorful kimonos with their hair nicely done. Half of the men wore their standard clothing while the other half wore traditional attire. Sakura watched as couples held hands as they walked down the streets enjoying the company of their significant others. She watched families enjoy their time together. She observed children running down the streets with their friends, no doubt causing ruckus. Street vendors tried to coax the enjoyers to come to their stands.

Sakura smiled. This was why she loved festivals. It brought people together from their everyday routine, although it was different for shinobi – as they were required to work. The festival reminded Sakura of her Okaasan. Her Okaasan loved festivals and passed down her love for the event to Sakura.

"So forehead, are you meeting anybody?" Ino asked, breaking Sakura's thoughts.

"I'm meeting up with Shisui and Genma–"

Ino's snort interrupted Sakura as the pinkette smiled at her best friend. Genma was Konoha's biggest flirt. Sakura was used to his teasing, as they spent countless missions together and she knew how to shut him up if it was required, but his flirting only pissed Ino off, who was not used to his comments. Genma was the actual pig, according to Ino.

"So you have a date with Itachi?"

Sakura coughed as she struggled to understand how Ino would come to such conclusion. "No I don't. It's a team outing," Sakura copied Shisui's words from earlier today.

"Whatever you say forehead. Itachi's just your Taichou and nothing more," Ino started, "and that's the extant of your relationship. He's your captain," Sakura nodded at Ino's comments. The pig was finally getting it. "So when he gets married to some beautiful Uchiha lady, you'll still be really good teammates. I mean, after he gets married he'll probably have to retire from ANBU to be clan head and he won't be your Taichou anymore. He'll be married making some Uchiha babies and you'll be lonely."

"Ino!"

"It's the truth forehead. You're going to be all gray and wrinkled and he'll still be the gorgeous Uchiha with brilliant hair," Ino said, "I'm just saying that I'm your best friend. I know what and how you feel before you even do. The longer you keep holding your feelings in the harsher the repercussions will be."

Sakura stared at Ino. Since when did the pig give out sound advice? The Yamanaka heir was right. Sakura did not know exactly how she felt for the Uchiha because she was too stubborn to explore those feelings. She did know, however, that her feelings for Itachi ran deeper than a simple subordinate-captain relationship. She had been harboring these rather strong feelings for Itachi for months now. Her emotions for Itachi was something that she was not going to act on, as she could list at least a hundred reasons why she should keep those feelings at bay.

One of those reasons was that Sakura did not know Itachi's feelings. She knew he did not feel the same towards her. Sure he was kind and nice, and Sakura later realized that she was one of the few people that Itachi trusted. His trust did not automatically mean that he liked her. After Sasuke, Sakura had ruled men out of her life, especially Uchiha men. She noted that she would stop seeking out love and love would just come to her. Apparently that philosophy, according to Ino, was going to be the downfall of Sakura.

"You're right Ino," Sakura conceded.

Ino snickered. "I'm always right, and where did Shikamaru go?" The Nara was missing. Sakura laughed at Ino's growing anger. "I'm going to kill him this time, I swear."

"Go find him," Sakura said as she waved off the look Ino was throwing at her, "I'll be fine. I have a date with Itachi, remember," Sakura joked as the two split ways.

Sakura walked down the crowded path, observing everything and anything. Sasuke and Naruto were on surveillance duty tonight so she would not be able to hang with them tonight. Team eight was also on duty, Sakura mused. She did not want to disturb Neji and Tenten, as Lee was probably doing that right now. Guess she was stuck with her ANBU team.

The pinkette made her way to the destination that Shisui stated team eleven was going to meet at. Before the pinkette could take another step, a particular smell filled her nostrils. Almost imitating Naruto, Sakura used her nose to follow the terrific smell as she found herself in front of a yakitori stand. She hungrily glanced at the different types of yakitori. Was this how Naruto felt when he goes to Ichiraku? Did he have trouble choosing what flavor ramen to buy?

"I don't know which one I want," Sakura mumbled to herself.

"Get one of everything then," a voice interrupted Sakura's daze was interrupted by the grinning chef.

Sakura laughed as she scratched the back of her head. "I don't think I'll be able to eat one of everything. I'll have the atsuage yakitori." Sakura exchanged money for the yakitori as she walked down the convivial streets.

It was not long before Sakura felt herself being followed. Sakura slightly narrowed her eyes as she continued to walk. Whoever was following her was doing an absolute terrible job at it. Maybe they would go away. Sakura made a turn at the intersection hoping to throw her stalker away but she felt their presence still behind them.

She did a quick three-sixty, ready to demand an explanation from her follower. Instead of finding an old, creepy stalker, Sakura looked down at a girl who could not be more than five years old. Her dark hair was disheveled and her baggy brown yukata was decorated with holes and tatters. The kid's facial expression expressed mixtures of surprise to guilt. Sakura's eyes softened. She was looking at a street kid, whose bright blue eyes were focused on the yakitori in her hand.

Sakura smiled as she knelt down to the girl's level and extended her yakitori. The girl's eyes widen with astonishment and jaw slightly dropped. Sakura watched as the girl's eyes drifted back and forth from her hand to her face. She cautiously grabbed the yakitori stick from Sakura's hands and stared at it for five long seconds before tentatively taking a bite. After the initial bite, the girl finished the yakitori in a record time.

The medic glanced at the girl's form. The baggy yukata hid the girl's tiny body but judging from her scrawny legs and arms, and the way she barged the yakitori down, the girl was severely malnourished. There were evident bags under her eyes and little bruises and cuts on her skin. Sakura felt a lump in her throat as she saw a little Naruto in front of her.

"Thanks," the girl said with a bright smile adorning her gaunt face. Sakura pushed the heavy lump in her throat and returned a smile, "You look like a princess!"

Sakura chuckled. "What's your name?"

"Nami!"

"I'm Sakura," Sakura replied softly as Nami's eyes widened.

"Wow," Nami awed, "You're so pretty Sakura-hime."

Sakura almost chocked at the honorific that was usually reserved for her shishou but her smiled widened at Nami's genuine admiration. "Hey Nami, can I heal the cuts on your face?"

Nami bobbed her head to the side confused. Sakura's hands glowed green as she slowly moved it towards the rather nasty cut on the young girl's cheek. Nami looked suspiciously at glowing hand, obviously distrustful of Sakura's intentions. Her wariness disappeared as Sakura's medical ninjutsu reached her cheek and quickly healed her cuts. Sakura healed several of the evident bruises and cuts before standing up and smiling at the girl again.

"Lets go get some dango," Sakura stated as Nami nodded enthusiastically.

Sakura bought Nami dango as the little girl eagerly ate the delicious treat. Nami was a chatterbox and reminded Sakura of Naruto and Ino. Sakura barely had the time to nod in response to Nami's statements before the little girl started talking about a new topic of discussion – which currently was Sakura's hair at the moment. The girl could not believe anybody had pink hair. Sakura was about to retort but Nami had disappeared as fast she appeared. Sakura searched for the girl but rendered it useless.

Sensing the familiar chakra, Sakura peeked to her right as she saw the very person who was messing with her emotions. She stared at Itachi's profile view. Her heart traitorously fluttered at the sight. He wore dark navy traditional attire. His silky hair was tied in a pony at the nape of his neck per usual.

Sakura noticed a group of people that Itachi was surrounded with. They were all dark haired and extremely good looking from what Sakura could garner. A group of Uchiha was enjoying the festival. Weren't the Uchiha supposed to be brooding and serious people? Maybe that was just Sasuke. The few Uchiha, other than Sasuke, Itachi, and Shisui, Sakura met were kind people, reserved and a little quiet but still amicable. She did not know why she was surprised seeing a group of them enjoying the festival together.

Maybe it was seeing Itachi in a social environment with people Sakura did not know that made her wary of the scene that played before her. Since when did he have the time to make friends? Probably when she forged his psyche exam that led to him having three weeks worth of free time. Sakura almost scoffed.

Sakura's eyed moved to the hand that was affectionately grabbing Itachi's forearms. Her eyes followed the hand upwards until her ivy eyes rested on a feminine face. Sakura tried not to narrow her eyes at the rather pretty face. Pretty face was an understatement. The face was beautiful. It was the type of beauty that only an Uchiha could be blessed with. Her soft features outlined the grace and poise only proper ladies processed. Sakura could not help but to feel a little jealousy run through her veins.

Her eyes quickly followed Itachi lower his head to the woman's mouth as words that Sakura could not read escaped her lips. She watched as Itachi's face slightly softened as he opened his mouth and something like a laugh came out. The strange woman was making Itachi laugh. Good for them. Sakura resisted her gagging reflexes before swiftly turning around from the sight. She was calling it for the night. The churning emotions in her stomach were definitely caused by yakitori and not the scene that played out in front of her.

* * *

><p>Sakura had spent the rest of the festival days and nights cooped in the hospital. Tsunade had raised an eyebrow questioningly at her, but Sakura merely stated that there was a surplus of patients and she was better needed at the hospital doing her job. She ignored the look Tsunade gave her and pretended to be the diligent medic performing her duty.<p>

Shisui had come looking for her asking why she had not shown up to the team eleven outing. Sakura had pathetically thrown a '_needed at the hospital'_ excuse and briskly shoved his pouting figure out of her office.

She needed time to think. Or more accurately time not to think and overwhelm herself with a million things so she could not afford the time to sit and think. Think was the last thing Sakura wanted to do. The pinkette refused to allow herself to envy the beautiful Uchiha woman that was wrapped around Itachi. There was nothing to be envious about. Itachi was merely enjoying the company of the opposite gender. Heck, if Sakura were a guy, she would be attracted to the striking woman too.

Itachi could go talk to whomever he wanted. He was not bound to anyone, especially to Sakura. He was a free man and free men could do whatever they wanted.

Tonight was the last night of the festival. As tradition, on the last night there was going to be firework show. Sakura was stubbornly going to miss it because she did not want to run into Itachi or that woman. Or both. She definitely did not want to run into both of them. Especially together.

Sakura almost slapped herself as her train of thoughts sunk in. She was excusing herself from the game because of a stupid boy. Her inner reminded her that Itachi was not a boy but she ignored her inner's correction. She had promised herself that she would not live her life around a boy. Itachi could do whatever he pleased and if he around her when he was living that was fine. She would be fine. She was strong and independent and did not need a boy in her life.

She slapped the patient file down on her desk. She was going to enjoy the firework display and not hide out in her office.

Sakura walked out of her office confidently and down the hallways with her shoulders back until she walked outside the hospital. The sun was almost gone and according to the official festival schedule, the fireworks would start at exactly eight-o-clock. But knowing from all the previous festival, eight-o-clock meant at least eight-thirty.

Rookie nine would usually enjoy the fireworks together on top of one of the tall buildings. Team ten was on security duty along with team Guy. Sakura headed to their usual spot before her inner feminism refused to accept the second-tier firework view. Sakura had planned beforehand that she was going to enjoy the fireworks from her hidden garden on top of the hokage mountain. So what if there was possibility that she was going to run into Itachi. She would not coward at his presence.

Sakura made a hasty turn and stomped to the garden. Itachi probably was not going to be there. Last time she checked, team eleven was on duty. The pinkette laughed at her worry. There was nothing to be apprehensive about.

As Sakura reached the garden she sensed his chakra as she almost decided to leave. But she stuck her chin up and walked onto the gazebo. He bothered her presence when she was here last time, the least she could do was bother his.

Itachi was wearing his ANBU attire, with his mask secured at his hip. He did not turn to greet her but his shoulders relaxing gave Sakura an indication that he was aware of her approaching. Sakura walked up to him silently and stood next him, leaning on the wooden railings. Her iron-will and stubbornness slowly melted away as it was replaced with calmness.

Sakura could feel his poking question in the silence. "This place has the best views."

"Ah."

His smooth tenor sent butterflies through Sakura's stomach. Sakura did not have the time to push the warmth away before colors and loud booms exploded in the sky. A smile spread across her face. What a great end to the festival.

Sakura's eyes were glued on beautiful display, while Itachi's were on Sakura's expressions.

She never felt his gaze on hers.

She never suspected it.

* * *

><p><em>As good as you make me feel<em>

_I wanna make you feel better_

_Better than your fairy tales_

_Better than your best dreams_

-Hunter Hayes "Wanted"

* * *

><p><strong>Hey lovely readers, it's been a little less than two weeks since the last update. I'm sorry it took a longer time. I had an exam I was studying for. I hope the length of this chapter can make up for the time. I wanted this chapter to be all about the festival, including time before and after but as I realized that it was getting too long. I was going to split this chapter in two if it got over 15000-16000 words but I just made it a little under. I actually cut a scene that I've decided to add in the next chapter as a flashback.<strong>

**I feel like the ending was rushed a little, and I apologize if it was. I really wanted to post this as soon as possible. Truthfully, I'm not so happy with this chapter. And I apologize for the fight scene. I'm not that great writing battle scenes.**

**Ino knows what's up with Sakura. Sakura refuses to acknowledge it because she's Sakura and hopeless when it comes to her love life. In this story Sakura's parents are both dead, I know it's different in the canon.**

**I have so many ideas popping into my head and I can't wait to get everything down.**

**Thank you so much for the reviews, favorites, and follows.**

**Until next time.**

**~ im-rite-here**


	5. Dirty Dancing

Chapter 5 - Dirty Dancing

* * *

><p><em>You and me together <em>

_We can do anything baby_

- Dave Matthews Bad "You & Me"

* * *

><p>It was a sunny day in Konoha.<p>

Actually, dark clouds were blocking the sun in Konoha, threatening to unleash heavy rains any second. It created an ominous feeling throughout village. Ino pushed her oversized dark sunglasses further up her nose as she inconspicuously walked down the street in all black. It was rare for the Yamanaka to be caught wearing an outfit that did not have a hint of purple, but her low-profile attire was required. This was all for Sakura anyway.

Ino had given Sakura sound advice during the festival. Her input on the situation, however, ran right past the pinkette's head. Had Ino been any other person not used to Sakura's stupidity, she would have been insulted at her airhead friend. It was not everyday Ino's advice did not contain any sexual innuendos. But this was Sakura she was talking about. Sakura, the most stubborn and oblivious person Ino had ever the pleasure of knowing, did not know how to follow romantic advice even if someone spelled it out for her.

Ino gave Sakura a week to get herself together and do something about those jammed feelings of hers for Itachi. A whole week! That was more time than she gave to Tenten before Ino would be forced to intercept. Luckily in the weapon's mistress's case, Ino did not have to intervene. Although both Tenten and Neji were single in the public, it was only matter of time before they came out with their secret relationship to the general eye. Ino suspected the two waited to announce their status due to Neji's part in the clan. That was a reasonable excuse for the couple to keep their relationship hidden. At least her two friends were happily together.

Sakura, on the other hand, did not have such excuse. Ino knew that the Uchiha clan played a large role in Itachi's relationship status, but did not know the specifics. She did not know how the clan, especially those old geezers in the council, would react to their heir dating someone from outside the clan. They probably would not encourage the Uchiha and plot to break it up. If Neji had trouble dating outside the clan, Ino knew that getting Itachi to date outside the clan would be near impossible. That was not the point of her operation though. She was not scheming to get Sakura and Itachi together. She was scheming to get Sakura and Itachi to realize their feelings for each other, which would eventually lead to a possible relationship.

After Ino had found Shikamaru during the festival, when he magically disappeared, she scolded him for a good minute – which he swore was actually five. Ino demanded that her lazy boyfriend do something to make it up, which he promptly took her to a 'Pop the Balloon' stand. It was unbelievable. After all time the two spent together as a couple, even longer if you included their Academy and genin days, her boyfriend had taken her to a childish game stand that did not even offer oversized stuffed animals as prizes.

She was about to give him an earful but she spotted the infamous Uchiha heir across the street. He was in a group with six other Uchiha, judging from the flamboyant red and white fan adorned on their backs. She was not aware Itachi had friends, or enjoyed going to festivals. What struck her the most unusual from the scene was the Uchiha chick who was hanging onto Itachi's arms. Ino had examined the girl with narrowed, suspicious eyes. The girl was clutched onto his arm like some sort of clingy girlfriend. Ino automatically did not like whoever the mystery chick was. She was probably some fan girl. She was not even that pretty. So what if her kimono was on the nicer side and she was blessed with fabulous Uchiha hair and her face kind of sort of looked appealing. She was nowhere near Itachi's taste.

Then it hit her. Ino had no idea what Itachi's tastes were and type of girls he preferred. She never pegged him to be attracted to whiny, little civilians. This realization made her job much harder. If she was going to push Sakura to come to grip with her feelings, she had to know Itachi's preferences. There was no way she could accomplish this task on her own.

She needed an accomplice.

There was no way Shikamaru was going to get involved. He did have a high IQ but intelligence was not something that Ino was looking for in a partner. Her collaborator needed to be just as enthusiastic and persistent about the common goal as she was. Knowing Sakura and judging Itachi, Ino knew that this was not going to be an easy task. Both were difficult people who needed to be talked some sense into. She did not know Itachi well, which meant her henchman must be close to the Uchiha. But she did not know any of Itachi's close friends or acquaintances. She could ask Sasuke but the younger Uchiha would get an aneurysm at the thought of his brother and his teammate involved in anything along the lines of romantic.

That was when she got a message sent straight from kami-sama.

_We need to get them together. _

_Meet me at Miro's at 10 tomorrow._

_-S_

Ino almost died of happiness. There was someone out there who was equally scheming for Sakura and Itachi to get to together… err, realize their feelings for another. Ino was elated that she was not the only one who was rooting for the two. She finally had an accomplice who seemed just as eager as her. She could finally move to the next steps of her schemes.

Ino almost giggled at the thought of her sweet Sakura and the dark Itachi together. They would make the cutest couple, not as cute as her and Shikamaru, but still pretty cute. She pushed those thoughts away as she approached the meeting spot and swiftly took a seat at one of the tables outside. Ino grabbed a menu and pretended to examine the options.

A figure slide into one of the seats across from her but she made no move to look up from the menu. She noticed them discreetly grab a menu and look over it, expertly hiding their face from her view. The two sat in silence for a few minutes before Ino broke the silence.

"So," she started in a low tone, "I hear we may have similar goals in mind."

Her accomplice cleared their throat before they responded in an equally discreet, hushed tone. "Regarding our two favorite shinobi."

"Who are you?"

"It does not matter who I am. We share the same purpose." Ino's curiosity only increased but pushed it aside. She was here to help forehead girl and not satisfy her own inquiry,

Ino leaned back in her chair, still absentmindedly scanning her menu. Whoever she was dealing with knew what they were doing. They seemed like they had experience in area. Ino, however, refused to believe anyone could be a better matchmaker than her. She was the queen in that discipline and received many gold medals for her efforts. "I take it that you have a plan in your mind about how we should precede to accomplish this purpose."

The Yamanaka heard them sniffle behind their menu. There was a cold going around the village. The same cold that went around everytime the weather dropped in temperature. Shikamaru was suffering from said cold and according to him, he had to sleep for longer periods of time to recuperate. "I assume you have heard of Genma's Halloween bashes."

Ino rolled her eyes behind her sunglasses. Of course she heard of Genma's infamous Halloween parties. She was not a fan of the pervert and his over flirtatious personality but she's been to every single one of the bashes ever since puberty blessed her bra size to increase. "I've been to Genma's Halloween bashes."

"Good. Now all you have to do is make sure our dear Sakura shows up."

Ino could feel their glee radiating from across the table. How could she be so stupid? Genma's annual Halloween party was the best way to get Sakura and Itachi together. Why didn't she think of this before? Her accomplice was a genius. She could not have thought of a better plan herself. Scratch that. She probably could have. "Any costume preferences?"

Her matchmaking partner sneezed before sniffling a few times. She imagined them tapping on their chin a few times before answering. "Itachi has a thing for nurses."

Ino grinned. She could work with that information. She so happened to know several places that sold wonderful nurse costumes. If worse came to worse, Ino would just have to make the costume, but that was not a problem. It would give her a chance to practice one of her other many talents that she did not get many chances performing – sewing.

"We will meet again in three days after the party."

With that, her henchman disappeared in smoke as Ino peaked a glimpse of their face before disappearing. Her partner was sporting the same dark, oversized sunglasses as her. Great minds did think alike. That was why Ino was in a wonderful, stable relationship and Sakura was bored and lonely.

Now all she had to do was convince forehead to go to the party.

* * *

><p>Sakura sighed for the umpteenth time.<p>

She rubbed her forehead with her fingers. She was bored. She was actually bored. Never in her entire career of working at the hospital was she ever bored.

There were no major surgeries scheduled today and Sakura did not want to be a bully and steal another doctor's surgery. No injured shinobi or teams came in with serious wounds and inflictions. There were no classes scheduled at the medic school and Sakura could not spontaneously create a lesson and expect students to attend. Sakura went over to the civilian half of the hospital, which was also unnaturally quiet. She went to her lab only to realize that the current poison research she was conducting needed ten hours to process the toxin information. The pinkette had made her way back to her office to finish her paperwork only to realize that she had already diligently finished all her paperwork yesterday.

It was eerie quiet at the hospital, a complete reverse from how it was a few days ago during the festival week. According to Tsunade's superstitions, quiet days were a bad omen. Something big was going to happen, it was only a matter of time when. Last time when the hospital was as quiet as today, the Kyubi ran rampant around the village.

The weather only made her shishou more wary. Dark clouds covered the sky. They threatened to drop waterfalls down onto the village any moment. Her shishou did not like the rain but Sakura loved the dreary weather. She loved when the rain would pour and the lightning illuminate the sky for a second before releasing loud thunders.

Sakura groaned and dropped her face into her palms. She had just finished all of Tsunade's paperwork and she was stuck with nothing to do. Tsunade was at home. The blonde did not want to be at the hospital when the bad omen struck. The Senju knew that if anything bad did happen, she would immediately be called down to the hospital. There was nothing for her to do at the hospital at the moment. Sakura wondered how the Director of the Hospital and Head Medic could just stay home. Sakura stared at her impeccably neat desk. Then again, she did not blame her shishou for leaving. The hospital was dead. It was not even noon yet.

Sakura's thoughts absentmindedly made their way to her favorite tall, dark, mysterious fellow. She wondered what Itachi was doing at the moment. Team eleven did not have a mission at the moment, as Sakura checked mission statuses earlier in the morning. Was he training? Maybe he was training Sasuke. Sasuke would never admit it but the younger Uchiha followed his Onii everywhere. Maybe Itachi was working at the Intelligence Department. Or maybe he was just chilling.

Sakura snorted at the thought. The Uchiha heir did not know how to 'chill'. The realistic part of her knew that she did not know to chill either but she ignored that part. At least she had people who forced her to relax if she was overworking herself. Itachi was stuck with her failing his psyche exam and lying about groin injuries to get him some time off.

Her thoughts wandered back to the festival. She was tired of lying to herself about the feelings she experienced at the celebration. Sakura did not exactly know what she felt for Itachi but she definitely liked him a little more than a simple friendship. The jealousy she felt when she saw another woman with him who apparently could make him laugh was unexpected. She could make him laugh too. He laughed at her jokes before. Sakura painstakingly tried to think of the times she did. She could not think of any, but she did joke with him. She accused him of killing bunnies and he responded to her banter. That was a good sign. That was a really good sign.

Sakura decided to come clean about her feelings, at least to herself. She felt raging jealousy that she concluded was a result for her deeper feelings for the Uchiha. She was not going to lie to herself about those emotions anymore. It was time to come clean and stop hiding behind whatever was holding her back. She fully accepted the fact that she kind of sort of liked Itachi.

The stupid fortuneteller told her that her feelings for Itachi were pure. The old lady had stated Sakura held deep love for someone, which Sakura knew was Itachi because there was no other man she was attracted to. She doubted it was love but it was definitely something deep. The old lady had ruined Sakura's night. The pinkette barely got any sleep that night because she was too busy thinking about the black card. Sakura found a newfound despise for fortunetellers.

* * *

><p><em>With arms crossed, Sakura marched her way to the hospital. The streets became more crowded since she and Ino first made their way onto them. The people around her were starting to make her feel claustrophobic. She needed fresh air and being surrounded by loud, happy, laughing people was starting to make her feel physically sick.<em>

_Sakura wanted nothing more than to take off the annoying, hindering kimono and put on some scrubs and find a really long surgery. Seeing all the colorful, cheery outfits around her made her gag. There was nothing to be cheery about. The pinkette had a sudden desire to burn the kimono she was wearing once she took it off._

_The medic did not know why she was in such a foul mood. She should be happy. Everyone around her was happy. They were laughing and enjoying the carefree environment. She, on the other hand, was sulking her way to the hospital. She could give Sasuke a run for his money. A part of her knew what was making her feel horrid. It was Itachi. It was the Uchiha's entire fault. She did not understand why the normally distant Uchiha was having more fun than her during one of her favorite times of the year._

_Another part of her knew that she had no right feeling this way. Itachi could have as much fun as he desired. He owed her nothing, especially his company. If he chose to spend his free time with an absolutely striking woman, who was not Sakura, it was his decision. Sakura knew that he was with a group of people and not just that pretty woman but the bitter part of her refused to acknowledge the rest of the group. Itachi was enjoying the festival._

_Another traitorous part of her liked seeing Itachi so untroubled. He was always on missions, always overworking himself, always having to worry about something. Sakura appreciated that he was relaxing and enjoying the festival, even if it meant he was laughing at that woman's jokes. She wanted to see him carefree and unworried. She did not want to see his shoulders tense all the time or the bags under eyes grow deeper._

_Sakura almost slapped herself at her thoughts. She was thinking like a jealous, scorned girlfriend. She was most definitely not Itachi's girlfriend and she most definitely did not have the right to be jealous of who he hung out with. She was his teammate, his subordinate. They had a professional relationship, not a personal one. He trusted her with his life and all Sakura could do was stomp away like a resentful ex._

_"Aye pinky!"_

_Sakura stopped her tracks and searched for the voice who called her that annoying nickname. If her mood was not foul enough before, it definitely was pure rotten now. Nothing positive could happen in the night that could make her horrid emotions disappear. Nobody called her pinky and got away with without an earful. Sakura's eyes landed on a smirking old woman who had a raised eyebrow at Sakura's unpleasant expression._

_"Yeah you," the old woman nodded, "You're the only one with pink hair around here."_

_Sakura bit her tongue from the snarky comment that was urging to escape her mouth. She would not get into an argument with an old lady. She had too much respect for the crippled and elderly – well, not every crippled and elderly, the old geezers in the council were proof enough. But something told her that this old woman could beat her with a single strike._

_"Come here child," she instructed, her voice raspy yet strong. It held weight and knowledge, revealing decade's worth of intelligence._

_She held out her wrinkled hand that Sakura felt inclined to grab. The pinkette slowly walked over to the lady and sat down on the stool across the woman. The old lady made no move to release Sakura's hand. Her grip on the medic's hand tightened as Sakura let out a surprise wince. For her age, the old lady apparently had some strength behind her wrinkled façade. Sakura watched the woman observe her hands, her strong grip slowly loosening. She carefully examined each finger as Sakura tried not to feel uncomfortable._

_"You are a shinobi," the raspy voice filled Sakura's ear once again, "but you hands are soft. Shinobi do not have soft hands." Sakura had to give the woman credit for her observance. Sakura was not revealing any indications that she was a shinobi. The woman must have sharp eyes. "A medic. You are a very good medic. Explains your hands."_

_"I'm sorry, what are you doing," Sakura asked, effectively breaking her company's concentration. Two dark, annoyed eyes bored holes into Sakura's forehead._

_"Reading your future! What do you think I'm doing?" the woman sharply cut._

_Sakura could not stop her mouth from slightly falling. It was then when Sakura realized she was sitting at a fortune telling booth. To say Sakura was disbelieved was an understatement. Sakura did not believe in predicting-the-future-with-some-kind-of-juju façade. Team seven had gone on a mission a few years back and Naruto had begged for the team to get their fortunes told when they discovered a famous fortune telling shop. To make Naruto stop talking, the team had agreed. She begrudgingly walked into the shop and got her fortune told. '_You will be emotionally constipated in the coming months and if you do not confront those feelings, you will regret it for the rest of your life. And you will be getting a recent promotion'_ the fortuneteller predicted._

_It was all bullshit. Fortunetellers made their living off reading body languages and any signs the poor victim was giving off. Her prediction was absolutely ridiculous. She was not emotionally constipated and she did not plan to live the rest of her life regretting something that did not even happen. Sakura smiled and walked away from the fortuneteller, not believing a word that came out of their mouth. Sure, she was emotionally constipated – it was the after effects of her stubbornness. A few days after team seven returned from the mission, Sakura was requested to join the infamous ANBU team eleven on a mission. Sakura refused to believe the fortuneteller predicted this._

_Judging from the incredulous look Sakura must have been emitting, the old lady snorted and released Sakura's hand. "You don't believe in this."_

_Sakura slowly shook her head. "No, I don't. I'm sorry."_

_"Ha! You can be sorry for yourself when your lover walks into the arms of another woman. You'll only have yourself to blame."_

_Sakura did not like the knowing look the woman was gleaming with. She did not have a lover. She was '_boring and lonely'_ according to Ino. Sakura was not even planning to have lover any day soon. She was far to busy and independent to be held down by some lover. She was perfectly fine by herself._

_But the other fortuneteller was right. Sakura did get a promotion. She got a promotion into the ANBU. There was no way that the predictor could have guessed that. Maybe they were making up lies but they were right. Sakura was promoted into the most elite group of shinobi in Konoha. The skeptic part of Sakura's mind urged her to hear out the lady._

_Grumping at her lack of restraint, Sakura crossed her arms and relented. "Fine, you can tell me my fortune. But just you know, I don't believe that you can tell me what's going to happen in my future."_

_The old woman smiled at Sakura with traces of dry humor and wickedness. A deck of cards slipped out of her long sleeves as Sakura wondered how the woman managed to store them in the loose sleeve. The fortuneteller quickly shuffled the cards before loudly slapping them onto the table. She glanced at Sakura, making sure the pinkette was ready for her fortune. She slowly slid the top card and peeked at it before placing it on the table to let the pink haired girl look._

_Sakura scrunched her brows in confusion. The picture on the card made no sense. There was a lonely, high tower that looked like it was made of gray cobblestone. It would have looked dark and dreary if it were not for the beautiful flowers wrapped around the tower. Sakura carefully observed every detail of the picture, trying to decipher the symbolic meaning that would somehow link to her future but came up blank. She noted that there were only three specific flowers that encircled the tall tower._

_"This card, my child, reveals a lot about your state of mind and self," the fortuneteller started, "These three flowers each represent three different things. The white flower, Gardenias, symbolize purity and secret love. You have these strong emotions of admiration for someone. Your admiration is completely pure and free of any blemishes and contamination. The love you have for this person strings from a deeper level than the artificialness of appearance and status. But because it is so pure, there is doubt if your love is even real._

_"The second flower, the slightly pinkish and purplish one, do you see them?" Sakura nodded, "They are Gladiolus. They represent honor and strength of character. You have a strong bond to your morals and integrity. But some Gladiolus flowers, especially purple ones, are known to be poisonous. There will be obstacles you face that will try to taint your principals and your character. And the last flower, the bright red one, Anemones, symbolizes anticipation. But it also represents fading hope."_

_"And what does that one mean for me?" Sakura asked, completely entrapped within the fortunetelling._

_The old woman laughed. "Pinky, anticipation and fading hope are two antithetical meanings. You are torn between something. You don't know what to follow – the part of you that is waiting for something to happen or the part of you that is stating that whatever it is you're waiting for will not happen."_

_Sakura narrowed her eyes at the vague explanation. This was all bogus. She was about to stand up and leave but the woman grabbed Sakura's hand and stared dangerously into her. "The tower represents you, my child. You are locking yourself away. You are locking your emotions, your morals, your constitution away. These flowers are the truths that wrap around you but you do not let them in. The longer you wait, the faster these flowers will enwrap around you and before you know it, these truths will suffocated you until you die."_

_The woman let go of Sakura's hand roughly before moving her attention to the next card. Sakura stared at her throbbing hand. How did the old hag have so much strength? She looked like she could be at least a hundred years old. The pinkette resisted the urge to heal her bruised hand in front of the woman._

_The fortuneteller flipped the second card over which revealed a simple white, smiling mask. "Ah the mask. This represents deceit. You see the mask is smiling but you do not know what is behind it. You are being lied to," Sakura almost face palmed at the statement. Of course she was being lied to. Everyone lies. "Child, from the look of your face, you do not understand the great depths of this telling. Everybody lies, that is true. There are two parts to a mask – what the mask portrays and what is behind it. You see and observe and learn to believe what the mask portrays, but you do not question what is behind the façade because you an entrapped with the exterior portrayal. Be careful, child. Remember that a mask is worn to protect the truth, and usually, the truth is grotesque and vile. That is why an elegant mask is worn. Do not fall prey to the lustrous and beautiful mask."_

_Sakura suddenly felt hollow with the information. Everyone had some sham and two-facedness to his or herself. She was equally as guilty of wearing a mask. How was she supposed to beware of deceitful people when she was deceitful herself?_

_The fortuneteller slid another card and placed it on the table. Her loud gasp broke Sakura out of her thoughts and straighten her posture while alerting her senses as if an attack were to happen. Sakura looked confused, and lowered her eyes to examine the card. It was all black. There were no pictures or any other colorings._

_Sakura quickly glanced up at the old woman waiting for an explanation. The fortuneteller's expression wore signs of disbelief, shock, and fear. The women was clutching onto her hand as if the card burned her. She was slightly shaking with fright as her breathing started to increase. She looked like she was going to have a breakdown._

_"This card is useless. It's a sham," the old woman muttered before jumping to her feet and gathering her cards and throwing them into a small bag, "This booth is closed now. Child, you should leave."_

_"But wait," Sakura started but paused her sentence from the sharp look she received from the old woman. She took out some money to hand to the fortuneteller but the old woman swatted the medic's hand away."_

_"Free of charge." Sakura made no move to leave her spot as she stared at the old woman who was quickly gathering her stuff. "Do I need to ask you one more time to leave pinky?"_

_Sakura scrunched her nose at the annoying nickname as she slowly put distance between herself and the old woman. That was unexpected. Sakura predicted it would have been her who would stand up and leave the fortunetelling early. She did not like the idea of telling ones fortunes but she had sat down for one. The woman looked like she was an expert at the talent. It would be a lie if Sakura said the lady did not hypnotize her. But the old hag's confident personality quickly turned downwards. What was so scary about the black card?_

_There was nothing special about the black card. It was stupid. Fortunetelling was stupid. It put stupid ideas into people making them believe that some cards controlled their futures. Sakura refused to believe that her fate was already decided. She was the one who controlled her of her own fate. She decided her destiny, not some stupid predictions forecasted by a stranger. But even with her realistic approach, Sakura could not help but to feel a little dread over the card and the old lady's reaction. The woman was definitely scared. Sakura was no stranger to frightful expressions._

_It was obvious that the black card represented something negative. Maybe it represented her love life – Ino would agree. Maybe Sakura would wake up tomorrow morning in the underworld. If Sakura had to guess, she would envision the black card symbolizing death. But death was inevitable. Sakura knew that she was going to die. She did not know when but death was waiting for her. Especially since she was a kunoichi, Sakura had to be somewhat comfortable with the idea that she could die anytime she accepted a mission. But why would that freak the old lady out?_

_Sakura snorted. Maybe she did inherit Tsunade's unfortunate luck after all._

* * *

><p>Loud banging interrupted Sakura from her thoughts as she blinked back to reality. It was banging number three – Ino. Sakura had memorized every type of knock on her door – Sasuke's was quick and stern, Shizune's was gentle and robotic, Naruto just barged in without knocking, Kakashi always used the window.<p>

Ino walked in a second later with a big smile on her face. Sakura knew that smile. The pig was up to something. "Sakura-chan," Ino greeted.

Sakura raised her brows with appall at the honorific. "Sakura-chan? What's wrong pig, did Shikamaru finally break up with you?"

Sakura smirked as she saw Ino's smile crack but still plastered firmly on her face. The pig needed something. "Shikamaru did not break up with me," Ino stated, a little dangerously through her gritted teeth, "I've noticed that you've been working super hard. I think you need a break. You know, do something to relax."

"The hospital is really busy today, I don't know."

"Yeah with all your imaginative patients?" Ino crossed her arms. The nice friend attitude was not working. Sakura needed to be bossed around for her to listen. "But now that you've expressed interest, you're coming to Genma's Halloween bash Friday night."

Sakura scoffed. "Why would I do that?"

"Because Genma is your teammate, and you should support him by going the parties he throws. It's good companionship forehead."

Sakura stared incredulously at the blonde. Good companionship? Last time she remembered, Ino promised to never go to his parties ever again after Genma mistook her for his girlfriend and groped her. That was three years ago. The pig shamelessly went every year.

"Are you going costume shopping?"

Ino eyed at Sakura. This was a trick question. Forehead was testing her. Ino knew from previous experience that Sakura highly disapproved of the costumes Ino would pick out for her. They were not her style, the forehead would always say. Ino would roll her eyes at her prude friend. Plus, the pinkette hated going shopping with her. Ino did admit she took their shopping experiences to the next level but that was no excuse for forehead to test her. Ino stared at Sakura, who was waiting for an answer. She would just have to take her chances.

"Yup, I'm going right now. I have the afternoon off from the dungeon. What else am I supposed to do on this dreary day?"

Sakura stood up and took off her white doctor's coat and approached Ino. "Ok, lets go."

Sakura laughed at her friend's incredulous look. Ino was definitely prepared for a tougher battle from Sakura. Ino could have asked her to go to the dungeon for the rest of the day and Sakura would have gladly agreed. There was absolutely nothing she could do at the hospital. Her boredom was killing her enough that Sakura would voluntarily go shopping with her neurotic, frustrating friend.

"Forehead, am I hallucinating?" Sakura rolled her eyes at Ino's teasing.

"Come on, let's go before I change my mind."

Ino smiled wickedly behind Sakura's back. Forehead was making this too easy. She was expecting much more struggle from the stubborn medic. Ino was not complaining. If Sakura happily agreed it would make her life easier. She could not wait until she dressed Sakura in a little nurse's costume. Maybe considering Sakura's somewhat easygoing demeanor, it would not be such a difficult task.

Everything was going according to plan.

* * *

><p>Sakura's eye twitched as she stared at her reflection. Common sense finally caught up with her.<p>

There was no way she was walking out of her house in this. She was practically walking around naked. This costume did not count as clothes. How could she agree to wear such racy clothing in public? What was going through her mind when she bought the outfit? Sakura marked her as delusional. She was not in the right state of mind when she purchased the costume. Naruto and Sasuke would have a stroke if they saw her like this. Luckily for her, they were on a mission far, far away.

Sakura winced at the memory. She agreed to go shopping with Ino because of the eerie quiet hospital two days ago. Ino knew this wonderful place that sold '_the best costumes in all of Konoha'_. When the two were scanning through the racks of colorful costumes, Ino found a nurse costume that was made to be worn by the pinkette. Sakura did not know where her common sense was at the moment but when she stared at the costume, she blurted that she walked into a room that Itachi was in wearing a nurse uniform without a bra on. It was the braless incident that Sakura so desperately tried to forget.

Ino had smirked and did not even allow Sakura to try the costume before pushing the pinkette to the register. The pig demanded why Sakura had not told her sooner. The Yamanaka was in utter bliss at the story, claiming that her dear Sakura old finally grown up. Sakura rolled her eyes. Ino's reaction to the mortifying experience was the exact reason why Sakura chose not the tell her.

A small part of Sakura knew why she let Ino drag her to the shop and why she relented on buying the sultry nurse costume. She wanted Itachi to see her in the costume and weep. A fraction of her was still a little jealous at the woman Itachi was with and that small fraction overpowered her to buy the outfit.

But the thought of Itachi seeing her in such clothing made Sakura feel faint. He was not going to see her in the outfit because he did not go to loud, crazy parties, even if it was one of his comrades throwing the party. Sakura was only going because it would make the pig shut up and the hospital was still strangely quiet.

Genma's annual Halloween bash apparently was notorious around the Konoha shinobi. Genma lived in house near the village border. It was a rather quiet and isolated area. The house was passed down from his parents, who died years before on missions. It was the perfect spot of throwing a noisy party in the night. There was no official guest list, but it was a party usually shinobi attended. Over the years, his annual bash gained popularity and civilians started coming to the party, as Sakura remembered Genma boosting to Shisui during a mission once.

Sakura was not a party type. She did not enjoy deafening music and drunken people. Maybe she was a prude like Ino kept exclaiming. The pig was shameless when it came to parties like these. She absolutely loved attending parties, no matter how many times she would tell Sakura she was cutting back on her party ways. To Ino's defense, the Yamanaka heir did cut back her partying ways after she started working at Interrogations and dating Shikamaru. Shikamaru's laziness was contagious.

She definitely did not enjoy wearing racy clothing around a house full of people. Sakura knew that girls wore even more sultry costumes than this one. It was that one time of year they could get away wearing revealing costumes. The costumes were just one of the many reasons Sakura stopped escorting Ino to the Halloween party.

Sakura did another glance-over at her reflection. The white a-size-too-small tight dress hugged Sakura's slender figure. The buttons came to her breast, which left it open for Sakura to show a considerable amount of cleavage. She could hardly find a bra she could wear under this costume without her bra hanging out. If she was going to wear a nurse costume, she was at least going to wear a bra underneath. Sakura did not want to repeat the braless nurse uniform incident. Ino had insisted Sakura wear red thigh highs. Sakura sighed. If she was going to this party, she might as well go all out. The pinkette tried to pull down her dress before giving up.

"Ughh, I don't want to go out like this," Sakura groaned. This nurse costume was demeaning to actual nurses, who spent their time and energy saving lives.

"Oh don't worry forehead. No one will remember what you wore," Ino halfheartedly comforted. "Plus, you look hot."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "I guess you look hot too pig." Ino had decided to dress up as bunny this year. She was wearing a pink strapless one piece with white tights. "We are teleporting ourselves to Genma's. I'm not walking down the street." Ino nodded in agreement. "Shikamaru's not coming?"

Ino snickered. "Pft, like he would go to a loud, troublesome party. The meeting at Intelligence is running longer than expected. Plus, the lazy idiot would not go to the party even when I told him Genma would be continuously hitting on me, remember what happened last time he went to the party," Ino explained with a laugh.

Sakura recalled the memory vividly. Shikamaru had just been promoted to jounin a few days before Genma's party some years ago. Ino had the perfect idea of celebrating the promotion at the Halloween bash. Knowing that Shikamaru did not have a choice in the matter, he let himself be dragged to the troublesome party. He sat on one couch for the entire night. Shikamaru somehow fell asleep – which was an accomplishment on its own, considering how loud the music was – and woke up to find a strange male on his lap sitting rather comfortably and sucking on the Nara's neck. Shikamaru swore he would never return.

Ino applied her last coat of lip-gloss before turning to Sakura and smirking. Everything was going according to plan. Tonight was going to be an interesting night. "Alright forehead. Let's go before you chicken out."

* * *

><p>Itachi did not know exactly why he came to the absurd party. Shisui had mentioned something along the lines of being supportive teammates to Genma. Itachi was a perfectly supportive teammate. He did not need to go to a ridiculous Halloween party to show his support. Shisui had mentioned that their dear Sakura-chan was going to be there and it would have been rude not to leave their lovely blossom alone at Genma's party. Itachi almost snorted at the comment. Sakura did not go to such parties – at least he did not think she was the type to like loud, crowed parties. Itachi relented only so Shisui would stop from continuing to bother him.<p>

His plans for a quiet night in were ruined. He was going to brief himself on current events in the Land of Wind but Shisui had effectively wrecked his intentions. Now he was wearing a ridiculous mask and a foolish cape for Genma's party. The mask only covered the upper half of his face. What was the function of a mask that did not cover your entire face? He did not even know what he was dressed as. At least his entire attire was all black; he could easily blend in with the crowd and not stand out. He had no intentions of staying long. He was merely going for a few minutes, half an hour tops, to make Shisui happy and 'support' Genma.

Itachi did not try to hide his foul mood as Shisui practically dragged him around the noisy house. Genma's house was rather big, as both his parents were shinobi and made a decent amount of money. It was only a little past ten but his house was already overcrowded with both shinobi and civilians alike in outlandish and skimpy costumes. His ears were filled with loud music and nose filled with alcoholic drinks and outrageous perfumes. There were different colored flashing lights, which provided the only light source.

Shisui picked up his pace in front of Itachi, as Itachi struggled to push past people to keep up with his cousin. "Genma!"

Said Genma turned from the group of girls he was chatting with to face his teammate. "Shisui!" The two men enveloped in a hug, as if they had not seen each other in years. Genma looked behind at the sulking Uchiha and snickered. "What are you doing here Taichou?" Genma joked.

Itachi tried not to roll his eyes and walk right out the house. "Hn."

"Why don't you introduce us to your friends?" one of the girls Genma was chatting with interrupted the small team eleven reunion in a high-pitched, cheery voice.

Genma smiled. "This is Shisui and that is–" Genma glared at the empty spot Itachi stood at merely seconds ago. He sighed. Itachi was probably on his way out. The Uchiha did not do parties or loud music or alcohol or girls. "Gone. Well, you get more of me then," Genma flirted, as the girls' giggles boosted his ego.

Itachi did not know why he came. He did not like parties and crowded spaces and loud music and definitely not all three combined. He did not like the way Genma shamelessly flirted with those strangers. He did not like the way the girls wore tight, revealing clothing. He did not like the smell of alcohol and sweat in the air or the flashing lights that was starting to give him a headache

His job here was done. Shisui was happy and Genma was supported. He could finally go back home where it was nice and quiet and debrief himself on current events. Itachi made his way through the crowded floor, ignoring hungry stares of a few women, who some had the audacity to grab him which he smoothly avoided. He was getting out of here as fast as possible.

A bob of pink in his peripheral vision caught his attention as Itachi halted in his tracks. The flash of pink quickly disappeared behind a crowd, as Itachi pondered if that could have really been Sakura. There was no way Sakura would come to a place like this, but then again, neither would he. Itachi sighed. He needed to go home, but his feet started heading towards the direction he thought he saw Sakura. He already regretted his decision to follow the pink and continue to spend any more time at the party.

Itachi walked into the kitchen. Sakura was here and cheerfully chatting with Genma. He noticed a flash on anger cross her face as she barked something probably witty back the Shiranui. Her cheeks turned a soft shade of pink as she crossed her arms. That was when Itachi noticed what she was wearing. It was his turn to flush as the tips of ears turned red.

Sakura was dressed as a nurse. Itachi felt the sudden need to look away or cover her with his ridiculous cape. The white nurse outfit tightly covered her form. Covered was an overstatement. It did not cover anything in his opinion. It barely came mid thigh. His eyes continued to drop as he took in red thigh highs that had a white cross designed at the top. The red garter belt that obviously connected with whatever she wore underneath was clearly visible in the small space that the dress and tights met. His eyes ran back upwards, briefly stopped an extra second at the ample cleavage, before setting on her face.

Her rose hair was in perfected in soft waves. Itachi felt a need to run his hands through her hair to feel if her hair really was as silky as it looked. Her big eyes expressed every emotion she was feeling. Her lips were colored fiery red, as they were currently enwrapped around a kabob stick. Itachi watched as she slowly chewed before swallowing. His gaze moved down to her neck and down to chest. She fit the perfect description of an naughty nurse.

Itachi almost groaned at how effortlessly the pinkette captured his attention. He never shamelessly appreciated women, let alone any females that he held high regards for. But he literally could not take his eyes off from Sakura's form. She let out a laugh. Itachi could almost feel the warmth of her laugh from his distance.

Her ivy eyes suddenly clashed with his as a small smile grew on her full lips. He did not know if he should approach her or turn the other way. His voice of reason told him to walk away but he continued to stand there. She waved him to come over. It seemed he did not have a choice anymore. He was spotted. His legs made their way towards her before he could even command them to move. Shisui apparently appeared next to Sakura, smiling at Itachi.

"What are you supposed to be?" Sakura asked, her voice faint under the over music, as he approached his team but his expert ears caught her euphonious voice.

Shisui wrapped an arm over his shoulders and smiled. "We have no idea. He would only come if his identity were kept a secret. Ita-chan is so boring."

"What are you supposed to be?" Genma teased, winking at Sakura.

Sakura rubbed her chin with her fingers, feigning confusion. Her big, expressive eyes captivated her exact actions. "I dunno. Something seductive I guess."

Sakura and Genma broke out in fits of giggles as the two exchanged childish fit bumps. Itachi thought the foolish fist contact was unnecessary. There was nothing funny about her answer. He looked over to Shisui who a grin on his face. Did the joke only go over his head?

"We finally have our first team eleven outing," Shisui excitedly exclaimed as he looked at Sakura, "tell your other team to watch out." There was no doubt that team seven had strong bonds. They were a rare breed of shinobi who had stuck together in their originally assigned genin team.

Sakura snickered. "Don't tell that to Naruto or Sasuke," Sakura warned as she crossed her arms, pushing her breasts together. "They might not like that I'm here." They might not like her in that costume, Itachi thought to himself. There was no way her overprotective teammates would let her walk out of the house wearing a sultry nurse outfit.

"Where are the two idiots?" Genma asked.

"They have a mission in Iwa. They left yesterday and should be back in a week. Shishou wanted me at the hospital," Sakura explained.

Itachi knew that Sasuke was sent on a mission. His Okaasan was appalled that when Itachi was finally home and not assigned to any missions, Sasuke, who was usually in the village, was sent out on a mission. It indeed was unfortunate. Itachi had hoped to train with Sasuke during this rare moment when he was not away from the village. He knew that the hokage did not like team eleven to be idly stationed within the village for long periods of time when they could be benefiting the village while on missions.

"So, team seven zero, team eleven one," Shisui joked as Sakura stuck out her tongue in response.

"Here Sakura-chan, drink this," Genma handed Sakura the cup from his hands, "I made it myself."

Sakura looked suspiciously at the drink before taking a tentative sip as her face clenched together. "Genma, this is really strong." Genma grinned at the apparent compliment.

Two girls dressed in matching sailor outfits approached the group, calling for Genma who easily walked away with the pretty ladies. Shisui mentioned something along the lines of meeting someone and quickly disappeared behind the crowd of people. Itachi looked at the medic who gulped another sip of the drink before setting it down on the table.

Her big eyes made its way to his as she stared at him for a few moments before breaking out in a fit of melodic giggles. "I never pegged you as a person to come to house parties."

Itachi smirked. "Ah." He was not a person that went to house parties. How observant of her. Maybe it was his sulking attitude or the obvious fact that Uchiha Itachi did not attend loud parties. His brooding was exacerbated by the very giggling kunoichi in front of him.

A new song commenced throughout the house as Sakura instantly jumped with a wide grin on her face. "I love this song." Her face expressed genuine gaiety. He wondered how someone could achieve such perfectly conveyed emotions. It seemed like nothing bothered the pinkette at the moment as she was sitting on a cloud that was playing her favorite tune. She subtly bounced up and down and swayed to the beat. "Let's go dance."

Itachi raised his brow. He wondered if he heard her right. She just asked him to dance. Itachi had attended so few house parties in his entire life that he could count the times with his fingers in one hand. And never in those times had he ever been asked to dance. Half of the song must have passed as he looked at Sakura incredulously.

The thought of her dancing alone in that outfit around a bunch of horny, drunken men made his throat dry. There was no way he was going to allow her to go out to the dance floor, which was unofficially in Genma's living room. Before Itachi could continue to mull over his thoughts, Sakura grabbed his hand and pulled him into the living room. Her grasp was soft, but firmly secured his hand, making sure he would not slip out and run the other way. She pulled him through the crowd to the middle of the packed floor.

She quickly spun around to face him. Small hands grabbed his larger calloused ones and placed them on slender hips. Itachi sucked in air as he felt the warmth from her hips escape into his hands. Sakura triumphantly smiled, avoiding his questioning dark gaze. She slowly started swaying her hips to the beat.

He stared confused at the pinkette, not knowing what to do. He was in the kitchen only seconds before and now he found himself in the middle of the dancing crowd. He watched, captivated by how the pinkette sensuously oscillated between the beat. She moved her hips back and forth, dancing in sync with the low bass. Her eyes were closed as she let the music guide her movements. She clutched onto his forearms before throwing her arms above her head and her head back.

Itachi let out the breath he forgot he was holding in, as Sakura grew more confident in her actions and moved her hips closer to his form. Their bodies still did not touch but he could feel the radiating warmth coming from her petite body. He grasped his hands a little bit firmer onto her hips but made no other obvious motions. His grip must have sent a positive signal to the pinkette because she moved a little closer to him. He noticed a quick twinkle in her eyes at his motion before her lids covered her eyes again.

A floral aroma with hints of apples and mangos filled his nose. He could smell her shampoo. She was so close without actually touching him. Her arms or chest would briefly graze his torso or her legs her quickly slip between his before leaving as fast as they appeared. He found himself anxiously waiting for the next moment when Sakura would fleetingly press a body part against him. He completely underestimated how much affect her simple touches had on him.

He wondered where her newfound confidence came from. Sakura was a composed individual, minus her random outbursts of anger. Itachi never saw the pinkette act so coquettishly. She would teasingly flirt back to Genma's trifling but those were her charming witty comments.

Was it the drink Genma gave her? It could not be. Even though Sakura was acting more assertively, she did not show any signs of inebriation. If she was drunk, she was still a medic with exceptional chakra control. She could easily send chakra to her liver to quicken the metabolism of alcohol and remain sober. Sakura cheekily mentioned once that was why Tsunade could consume excess amounts of sake without permanently damaging her liver.

Itachi was completely spellbound by the pinkette within his grip. Her eyes were still completely shut which let him indulge in her raw facial expressions. The ANBU captain did not realize his Sharingan had activated, memorizing Sakura's every movement and expression and storing it for future purposes. The dark setting of the room easily hid his kekkei genkai, and Itachi completely took advantage of the dark room. He let his eyes wander. Her red lips were slight parted, letting out slow sighs of satisfaction. Her bare neck looked enticing as Itachi felt the sudden strong urge to run small kisses down her chin to the base of her neck.

His breath hitched everytime her hips rolled and twisted in his grasp. Her swift moments left him speechless and almost made him ache for more. Itachi found himself at loss of what to do. He was never in this situation before. Heck, he was never this closely intimate with a woman. This was all out of his control. But he found himself allured nonetheless. He was completely absorbed with the rose haired woman in his arms and said woman was engrossed in the music.

Her face expressed emotions ranging around utter bliss. She was beautiful. Itachi came to that conclusion months ago but watching her behave so freely without the extra weight of stress and worry of her everyday duties made him reinforce his conclusion of her beauty. She was enjoying this, Itachi mused. He never categorized Sakura as the party type. From his earlier observations, he noted she did not enjoy the loud, crowed atmosphere of the house party. But the little minx liked to dance. And she was rather good at it.

The cold space between them made Itachi suddenly feel as if she was in Sunagakure and he was in Yukigakure. He did not like the feeling. He did not know what intangible force controlled him to roughly pull Sakura closer to his form. Her eyes quickly opened in bewilderment as she clumsily fell into his strong arms. Itachi saw her eyes drop several shades to a dark forest green as it searched his licorice black eyes for something. A small smile slowly ran across her face as she lethargically stared at him through half lidded eyes. She steadily moved her hips against his, finally bringing physical friction between the two.

Itachi wrapped one arm around her waist as his other hand continued to grip onto her hip. He did not know when he gently started responding to her slow grind. Her hands tantalizingly ran up and down his chest. She would grip onto his shirt before slowly moving to another spot and soothingly rubbing it. Her hands crawled up his torso to his neck, as she gently stroked his base of his nape. Itachi's hands followed suit, and slowly traveled downwards. He stopped at her lower back. Even in his bewitched state, he did not allow his hands to travel further down out of courtesy. Instead, his hand traveled downward on her side, tracing Sakura's curves.

Itachi felt one of Sakura's leg wrap around him, bring their two bodies closer. He could precisely feel the soft curves of her chest against his. He instinctively pushed her body towards his, wanting to feel more of her flesh. Her hips dangerously rolled against his. He felt a wave of warmth run downward towards his pelvis.

Sakura abruptly untangled herself from his arms. Her eyes bore into his for a quick second before she grabbed his hand and slowly spun around, bringing her back against his chest. She guided one of his arms to her hip and his other hand to her flat stomach. Itachi latched onto the spots she directed his hands to.

Her bottom slowly moved against his groin. Itachi refused to let his thoughts linger at the action no matter how good it felt but he could not let himself stop Sakura from her movements. Her hips slowly swayed from side to side, creating a small pool of warmth bundle in Itachi's stomach as a response.

Itachi took another rough intake of air and traitorously relished at Sakura's sinfully rotating hips. This was wrong on so many levels. She was his subordinate. He was responsible for her life when they went on missions. She was his Otouto's best friend. Sasuke would not be pleased if he found out that his sweet, innocent teammate was promiscuously dancing with his dark, evil older brother. She was five years younger than him for kami's sake. He knew five years meant nothing to an ordinary civilian but in shinobi comparison, five years translated to more than a decade. He was breaking Konoha law, his Otouto's trust, and his own moral ethics by dancing with Sakura.

But he could not stop. Itachi's darker side, however, ignored all the pathetic excuses he came up with and reminded Itachi to feel the warm, seductive body against his. She rolled her hips once more, as his body treacherously grinded back against her. He was on the losing side of this battle. Sakura would undoubtedly win. She had already won.

Itachi did not notice the songs change or the people in the crowd. He was completely hypnotized by the kunoichi who was flirting with his sanity. Sakura flushed her back against his chest and slowly slid down before sliding back up and continuing her sensual dance against him. Itachi found his body responding to Sakura's rotating hips.

He could clearly smell Sakura's shampoo. He was entirely overwhelmed by her floral scent. She smelled so enticing, just like her dancing. Itachi wanted to grab her hair and show her the real extant of his temptation. She was moving against him like a sexually starved girl. How did she even know how to dance like this? The thought of her dancing so lustfully against someone else darkened Itachi's mood as he involuntarily pushed his pelvis against her backside rather roughly.

Sakura threw her head back on his shoulders. Itachi swore he heard his name softly roll out her lips but could not confirm due to the music. He peeked at her lips quickly and slightly regretted it. It took all of his self-restraint and control not to push Sakura against a wall and have his way with her. He was holding himself together by a very thin string, which Sakura was effectively toying with. He was Uchiha Itachi, but he was still human. He tried but could not control every reaction of his body. The little minx in his arms was not making it any easier. He held back a silent groan, as Sakura's grinded again.

Sakura's eyelids opened to reveal dark forest irises that were instantly captured by his dark ones. Her head rested on his shoulders. Normally, the pinkette's forehead barely reached his chin but the added height of her heels made it possible. The eye contact between them brought added intimacy. Itachi felt more heat run to his groin under the added weight of her gaze. She held his gaze as he stubbornly refused to be the first one to break their eye contact.

Her dark forest eyes slowly lightened. The deep, seductive gaze melted into something lighter. Her lips slowly turned upwards. The slow smile quickly turned into a grin. Itachi raised his brows in question. The medic broke out in small fits of giggles before fully engulfing in laughter.

She was laughing at a time like this. Itachi's head spun. They just engaged in a rather intimately promiscuous dance and the medic was laughing uncontrollably as if she was told the joke of the year. He did not understand what was going through Sakura's head. How could she be laughing? What was so funny? Itachi almost felt the need to ask her to explain the joke. She started laughing harder, probably reading his thoughts. A few people around them looked over at the laughing nurse.

Itachi gently pushed Sakura away, instantly missing the warmth of his body against his, before grabbing her hand and pulling her off the dance floor. He led he out the room into another room as she obediently followed. Itachi did not let his fingers escape hers and pulled her closer to his form, hoping that would somewhat dwindle the attention she received from prying, vulgar eyes. He pulled her up the stairs. He was heading to the roof, desperately in need of fresh air. He knew what he actually needed was to get away from the minx but he refused to leave Sakura at the party with other men that would no doubtlessly hit on her.

Sakura's laughing subsided a while back as she aimlessly let Itachi guide her to wherever he was going. It seemed Itachi was leading them to the rooftop. That was good. She could use the cool air to relax her heated body. Her extremely overheated body. Her traitorous mind wander to back to their erotic dance.

The pig had abandoned her. Sakura spent a good ten minutes searching for her blonde friend before running into Genma. He was definitely excited to see her but she quickly shut down his failing flirtatious remarks. He was dressed as a genie and apparently he could '_make her every wish come true'_ if he let her. Sakura scoffed at him. When was he ever going to learn to stop? Shisui had found the two before she spotted Itachi. It was a team eleven outing that Shisui so desperately wanted.

Sakura would be a liar if she said Itachi's appearance did not spark a pool of heat in her stomach. She did not know what he was dressed as but it did not matter. The guy would look good in a potato sack. Genma and Shisui had quickly vanished. Sakura could not help herself to care. Her attention was focused on Itachi the whole conversation with the team.

Her favorite song had started playing and she refused to leave the party without dancing. Ino was her dance buddy but was nowhere in sight. Sakura substituted her crazy blonde for Itachi. She did not know what came over her but she pulled him onto the floor. Normal Sakura would do no such thing but she was not normal Sakura at the moment. What she thought was innocent dancing at first quickly escalated to something more provocative and sensual. She did not know who was more appalled – her or him. Sure she was going to regret it the next morning, but she could not bring herself to care at the moment. Her body moved on its own and she let herself get lost in the music.

Crisp, cold air splashed against Sakura's face as the two walked onto the roof. Sakura took a seat on the tiles, hugging her knees against her chest. Tomorrow was going to be the first day of November. She could no longer walk around in skirts, although that was what Sakura kept telling herself every year when the colder season rolled in.

A warm cloak was gently placed on her shoulders as warmth immediately engulfed her. She watched Itachi sit next to her now cape-less. He stared out at the trees. She did not know if he was avoiding her gaze or simply interested in the boring trees before him. She took in his dark appearance. Never in a million years would she have guessed Itachi was such a good dancer. Sakura could now push Ino aside and name Itachi her official dancing partner. The thought made Sakura break out in another fit of giggles.

"You," Sakura answered his silent question while pointing a finger at him. He genuinely looked confused and a little bit insulted. She swore behind the cold, hardened exterior, Itachi was the most sensitive human being on the planet. His obvious ignorance to her giggles only made her start laughing.

Sakura felt Itachi cross his arms and 'hn'. Her little nurse cap was still secured on her head. "So where did you learn how to dance like that?" Sakura heard Itachi silently cough at her question. She could see him searching for an answer, but before he could reply, an ANBU jumped on the roof across the two.

"Haruno Sakura, you are needed at the hospital," they blankly stated behind their mask.

Sakura raised an eyebrow, her whole body alert and ready to move. She looked up at the ANBU and asked, "What happened?"

"Two patrolling teams came in with serious injures."

That explanation was enough for Sakura to quickly jump up and start making her way towards the hospital. Itachi thoughtlessly stood up and chased the medic to the hospital. He did not know why he followed her, he was obviously not a needed personnel but he needed to know she safely reached the hospital.

Sakura reached the hospital in record time. She did not mean to leave Itachi alone back on the rooftop but she sensed him following her to the hospital. His chakra completely disappeared when she reached the hospital though. Sakura did not know if he stopped chasing her because she switched to her medic mode. Sakura quickly made her way to the OR when she saw the real extant of injures.

A nurse informed Sakura of the OR that Tsunade was occupying as Sakura ran into an OR that her shishou was not occupying. Sakura glanced through the window and examined the heavily injured shinobi while she quickly washed her hands in the scrub room. A few nurses and medics eyed Sakura's outfit after she took off the cape Itachi gave her and kicked her heels off. She threw on a surgical gown and tied her hair quickly before walking into the operating room. There was no time for her to change into more surgical-appropriate attire.

Tsunade was right once again. A quiet hospital was a bad omen. Sakura spent at least two hours on her first patient before she had to move onto their teammate. Time flew past the pinkette as she worked on her patients. Another team with the same devastating injures had come in sometime before the sun started rising. Shizune had quickly informed Sakura that there were two more shinobi who needed her assistance.

Sakura loved her staff but they really needed more trained medics. They had more than enough nurses and civilian doctors but there was only so much those two could do for shinobi patients. The medic school was a start in a positive direction for medical-nin but it would take at least several years for the first wave of those students to be sent out on missions.

Sakura was just glad that all her patients survived this horrible attack. The pinkette had overheard one of the nurses saying that there was a supposedly attack against Konoha and those team intercepted before the enemy could infiltrate the village. She wanted to ask if they knew any more information but reminded herself that her responsibility lied to the bleeding shinobi. It was only a matter of time when she would hear about the attack. Twelve Konoha shinobi were brutally attacked on the Land of Fire's borders, of course the hokage would arrange a meeting to discuss the assaults.

Twelve was a large number. Never in Sakura's lifetime could she remember such a large amount of shinobi be admitted to the hospital under the same attack. An assault like this was not going to be overlooked. Sakura pushed those thoughts away as she focused on repairing the shinobi's kidney. Her job was to heal. The man's live depended on her.

Sakura lost track of time. The only indication of how long she was the OR was the changing staff and her slowly depleting chakra. She was going to run out of chakra any second. The stubborn medic, however, pushed through her exhaustion and continued pouring healing chakra into the shinobi. She was going to at least heal his organs before she would pass out. When she concluded the shinobi's wounds were stabilized and organs fixed, Sakura finally exited the OR.

The second she walked out, the symptoms of chakra depletion finally hit. Her head starting pounding and her stomach unhappily rolled. Her arms felt heavy and weak. Sakura briefly waved off the nurse who asked her if she was alright. Sakura just had to make it to her office, which was two floors up. She resisted the urge to groan. Her eyes felt heavy and her vision blurred. She felt a strong grip on her arm steadying her swaying body. Her eyes clashed with dark ones as she smiled at the familiar frown.

Itachi disapproved of Sakura's state. It was almost sixteen hours since he last saw her. He followed her to the hospital, making sure she safely reached there before he went home and got some sleep after taking a really long cold shower. He was wakened by an ANBU messenger stating that the hokage wished for his presence. Itachi had spent the remainder of his morning with the hokage and other high-ranking shinobi and officials discussing the attack. The assailants were apparently the Akatsuki. The normally discreet S-class criminal organization was starting to make more aggressive strikes. The Konoha patrol teams were proof.

He spent his early afternoon at the Intelligence department. Itachi knew team eleven was going to be sent out soon on a mission. He was surprised that he Sandaime had not sent the team out last night. He probably wanted Sakura to join them but knew Sakura's first responsibility was to the hospital. Itachi decided to check on the pinkette. He pushed last night's event deep in his head and focused on the present. He checked her apartment but she was not there. That only meant she was at the hospital.

When he reached the hospital, Itachi could not help but to frown at the sight. Sakura was just leaving the OR. She looked completely exhausted, as she could barely keep her eyes open or stand straight. Her chakra levels were dangerously low. He could not help but to scowl.

She worked herself to the very brink of her capability. Again. He always thought Sasuke was exaggerating when his Otouto described Sakura pulling long shifts at the hospital and barely being able to keep herself awake at the end. Itachi did not think Sakura would so carelessly play with her well-being. But he was wrong – it was an occurring theme in life when it came to the medic. He picked her up and transported her to her home. There was no more she could do at the hospital without endangering her health.

A part of him felt guilty as he looked down at the barely conscious pinkette who was still wearing that naughty nurse costume minus the cap and stockings. He had a good night worth of sleep while she was saving lives at the hospital. It made him feel useless. His fellow shinobis were severely injured and he could not do anything about it.

Sakura's eyes opened suddenly as they reached her home. She tossed in his arms as he gently put her down but still held onto her shoulders. She needed rest. Not trusting the pinkette to make her way to her bed, Itachi slowly guided her there. She stopped mid track with a frown.

"I want to brush my teeth," Sakura claimed, her eyes half closed. Itachi started helping her to the bathroom but she stubbornly pulled her arm out of his grip and quickly walked to the bathroom. She was unbelievable. He was only trying to help her but she was stubbornly refusing his help even when she could barely stay awake. Not wanting to irritate her, Itachi waited outside.

She walked out of the bathroom five minutes later as Itachi soundlessly followed behind. He did not want her to snap at him for helping her. Sakura flopped on her bed and groaned. "Itachi help," she whimpered. He looked at the medic whose eyes were closed but the expression on her face revealed agony. He searched her body for any signs of injures but found none. "This dress is choking me."

Unbelievable. That was the only word he could use to describe her at the moment. He watched her hand unsuccessfully unbutton her dress. After several failed attempts she groaned once more and threw her head back and 'ughh-ed' for several seconds before pouting. Itachi silently smiled at her childish expression. He knew the sensible part of him urged him to leave the premises but he threw that part out of his mind last night when he dirty danced with Sakura.

He reached over to her dress and unbuttoned it carefully, not wanting any skin contact. Itachi controlled his perfect self-resistance and ignored her flat stomach and her toned, smooth-looking legs. He pretended not to see her lacy panties that seemed see-through and stood up straight and stared at Sakura for a response. He got a groan and an outstretched hand. Itachi looked questioningly at her hand before grabbing it and pulling her up. With her eyes still closed, Sakura took off the white costume and threw it at his head. He barely had enough time to catch it before peeking at Sakura quickly slipping under her covers. He caught a quick glimpse of lavender colored lace and creamy skin.

He should be given an award for what he just dealt with. No one played with his control as much as Sakura did in the past twenty-four hours. He almost thought it unfair that the responsibility of helping Sakura out of her costume somehow fell on him. Then again, he did not want anyone else helping Sakura out of her dress either. Itachi stared at the peaceful expression on her face. Her rose hair contracted beautifully against her white blanket. He quickly turned to make his way out of her house before he did something that he would regret. Her tired voice interrupted the quietness.

"Itachi," he heard a small groan as he stopped his pace and slightly turned his head, "I can't sleep with a bra on."

He stared incredulously at the girl whose eyes were still shut tight. How exactly was that his problem? She was hugging one of the many pillows that adorned her bed. If he left now, he hardly thought Sakura would remember asking him such a request. But if he did leave, he would feel guilty. What harm could come from helping Sakura? They were in the eye of the hurricane that represented their relationship. He made his way back over to the bed and gently unclasped her bra. Thankfully Sakura was sleeping on her side and hugging the pillow against her chest. He would not accidently see extra skin.

Itachi started walking towards the balcony that connected to her bedroom. He felt a piece of clothing land on his head. He picked it up and observed the scanty see through, lavender colored bra. The tips of his ears turned red as he tried really hard not to imagine Sakura wearing it. Itachi placed her bra on a chair before finally leaving her house.

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><p><em>But you've got what it takes to set me free<em>

_Oh you could mean everything to me_

-Nelly Furtado "Say It Right"

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><p><strong>Lovely readers! It's been barely a week and I present you with another chapter :) I absolutely thank you all for your kind comments and encouragements. I got a lot of really great critiques for last chapter and I encourage you guys to continue letting me know what you guys like and how I can improve this story. This chapter was originally going to be posted tomorrow so I had a whole day to actually edit the chapter but I've decided to post it today because I'm super excited, so I apologize (like always) for any mistakes.<strong>

**When I finished the last chapter, I had a completely different plan of how this chapter was going to be about. But the idea of a Halloween party popped into my head and I just had to get it out.**

**I'm much more satisfied with this chapter than I want with the last one. I feel like I didn't rush when writing and carefully described each scene, especially the one with the dirty dancing. I don't know where that idea came from. I don't want to push Itachi and Sakura's relationship too quickly but I felt it was the right time. If not now, when? Haha. I didn't mean for that scene to be so long. It was just a few paragraphs at first but I went back and added more.**

**I found out that surprisingly, Ino is the easiest character to write and I actually really enjoy writing about her. Itachi is the hardest but I feel a lot of people might have problems with him.**

**I didn't write about what Shisui was dressed as because I want to know what you guys think his costume should've been. Let me know.**

**Thanks again for all your lovely comments, favorites, and follows.**

**Until next time. **

**~im-rite-here**


	6. Bad Cooking

Chatper 6 – Bad Cooking

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><p><em>You push and pull, you give and take<em>

_And through it all I gravitate to you_

_I'm a fool, a mechanical tool for you_

_You've got all the switches and levers to blow my cool_

_And when you know I'm broken_

_That's when you come shining through_

-Lifehouse "Wrecking Ball"

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><p>Tsunade narrowed her eyes for the fourth time at the silent eye exchange. She was keeping count. Tsunade did not know what was more pathetic – observing the two awkwardly passing glances at each other when they thought no one was looking or her lack of attention in the rather important meeting. Watching the Uchiha pretending to stand nonchalantly with an expressionless face and Sakura barely keep herself together was way more entertaining than the meeting. There was something going on between the two and Tsunade was going to get to the bottom of it.<p>

Sakura was perfectly normal a few hours ago when Tsunade last saw her. But then again, Sakura spent over half a day in the OR. She was in full medic mode; her attention was solely focused on saving her patients lives. Whatever scandalous event that occurred between her apprentice and the Uchiha must have been before the group of injured shinobi were brought to the hospital. Were the two somehow romantically involved? Tsunade narrowed her eyes at Sakura.

Then it hit her. There was nothing technically going on between her apprentice and the ANBU captain's relationship. Yet. Tsunade would definitely know if Sakura was in a relationship. She saw the rose haired kunoichi as her own daughter. She could read Sakura like a book, especially considering how expressive Sakura was. The two must be in the awkward phase of whatever their relationship was – they cared for each other but did not know where they stood. The two probably did not even know their feelings for each other, Tsunade mused. Tsunade quietly snickered to herself. Her airhead apprentice and the stoic Uchiha made quite the unusual pair.

They were at it again. Tsunade observed Sakura's traitorous eyes glance towards Itachi again. She could physically feel Sakura's edginess and nervousness radiating from her petite form. Honey colored eyes traveled to Itachi. He looked cold and composed like always but her trained eyes could see his extra stiff form that would only tense more when he would lock eyes with the pinkette for the briefest second. He was clearly as disinterested in the meeting as the Senju was. Sakura was trying really hard block out his presence but was failing miserably. Her apprentice was a mess and the Uchiha heir looked just as bothered as the pinkette.

Tsunade wanted to laugh out loud at the scene. Young love. They were a bunch of stupid kids. She wondered if anyone else in the room noticed the secret exchanges and felt the tension between the two shinobi. The pair was making their awkwardness quite obvious. Maybe Tsunade's monitoring was a sign of boredom from these troublesome meetings and it was time to finally retire and travel the world, as she had been scrutinizing the pair for the past forty minutes.

A part of her wanted to tell them to get a room while another part of her wanted to continue relish in their uncomfortable stance. It was actually quite entertaining and amusing seeing the stoic Uchiha and stubborn Haruno quiver. Tsunade made a mental note to interrogate Sakura later to get some information about the situation.

"What is the medical status of the injured teams?"

Tsunade snapped out of her thoughts and brought her eyes to her sensei. Although he asked about her patients, his eyes asked a whole different question. The Senju resisted the urge to shrug her shoulders obliviously. "All twelve shinobi are alive and well. Sakura," Tsunade gestured her apprentice to continue.

Tsunade watched Sakura snap back to focus to the questioning eyes in the room that were all waiting for her response. "Err… um, we were able to stabilize all their injuries in time. Two of those twelve shinobi, however, will not be able to return as shinobi due to the extant of the damage they received," Sakura paused to take a breath, "Seven of the twelve nin suffered from deep lacerations. When we looked through the international medical database, we found concurring wounds from Iwa medical records."

The Sandaime asked, as he took his pipe out of his mouth and stared at the pinkette. "Like kunais?"

"No, something much thinner than normal weaponry. The cuts and gashes we healed looked almost like paper cuts. It's possible the opponent could control paper with their chakra and use them as weapons like how we use kunai and shurikens. Iwa medical records reported that they found paper in the wounds of the inflicted," Sakura explained in full medic mode, her previous uneasiness vanished. "Three other shinobis suffered from severe burn marks. Someone with an extensive knowledge of the fire element or explosives was responsible for their injuries."

The room dropped in temperature as Sakura peeked at her shishou to see if she should continue giving the medical report. Tsunade shook her head as Sakura thinned her lips into a firm line. This was not looking good. The Akatsuki had attacked Konoha nin. One of her shinobi patients claimed their attackers wore black cloaks with red clouds but they were not in the sanest state of mind and their claim could not be taken into account. The Sandaime was just waiting for Interrogations to confirm it indeed was the Akatsuki behind the attack before he made a decision regarding how to proceed. If this was a direct attack from Akatsuki this situation was graver than she originally predicted.

Everyone in the room wore somber expressions. The Sandaime called for an immediate meeting after medical stabilized the shinobi. Sakura got a good three hours worth of sleep before an ANBU messenger informed her that her presence was required at the hokage office. Being Tsunade's apprentice and head medic for the shinobi half of the hospital definitely had its advantages, but also many downfalls. She would be required to attend high-ranking meetings no matter what time or place it was held at. Lucky her.

She was exhausted and she knew the apologetic looks people were throwing at her were probably due to the dark bags under her eyes. She must look like a complete mess to everybody. She had swallowed a chakra pill on her way here but the effects were slowly dissipating as the meeting almost reached its two-hour mark.

Sakura glanced around the room again. The Sandaime had his back towards everyone as he stared out the large window. A few ANBU were scattered throughout the room providing the usual security of when the hokage was in a room with so many people. Tsunade and Sakura represented the medical division. The three annoying council members were present along with a few other important officials and chief administrators. Sakura peeked at Shikamaru, who looked like he was about to fall asleep at any given moment. She narrowed her eyes at the Nara and wondered what sixteen-hour surgeries he performed to look that fatigued.

Sakura refused to look at Itachi. Again. Her mood brightened slightly when her eyes remained on the Sandaime's back. Sakura was beginning to seriously think that she inherited Tsunade's rotten luck. Only she would dirty dance with Itachi and then be stuck in a room with him and forced to act professional and aloof about the whole situation.

It was hard keeping a neutral face in the meeting when images of the party flashed through her head. She remembered his hard body against hers. She felt his hands gripping her hips and his dark gaze boring into her hers. They did not even part on a bright note – she threw her bra at his head if she remembered correctly. Her memory was a little hazy, but she knew that was only five hours ago. How did the two always get into these situations? It was all Tsunade's fault and her contagious bad luck.

"Everyone is dismissed," the stern and scholarly voice of the Sandaime filled the room.

Quiet whispers broke out throughout the room as people started making their way out. Sakura sighed. There was not much they could do at the moment. The attack was unfortunate but they needed concrete confirmation that the Akatsuki were behind it before the Sandaime could start barking orders out.

Sakura started walking out, as she noticed her shishou approach the hokage. Sakura would normally be suspicious of her shishou wanting to have a private conversation with the hokage but she was too tired to care at the moment. And hungry. Her stomach growled angrily. It's been hours since she last had a proper meal. She had been surviving on chakra pills but they did not substitute for actual food. But she was so tired. Sakura sighed again. She knew if she fell asleep without eating, her stomach would not be pleasant company when she woke up. She knew from experience. Great, she had to cook something, Sakura thought sarcastically. Maybe she should just get takeout.

Sakura hugged the patient files to her chest as she walked outside into the chilly air. She really should start wearing pants now. The weather was growing more unforgiving to her exposed legs. At least she had her haori on, which provided much needed warmth for her arms. She was going to take a really warm shower before going to bed.

"Sakura," a familiar deep voice stopped Sakura from her track. Itachi walked up to her. Sakura took in his perfect self. His hair was impeccably in place, as Sakura subconsciously ran a hand through hers. His face did not reveal any signs of exhaustion. The two fell into a silent walk before his low tenor broke the silence. "How are the shinobi?"

"Alive," Sakura answered. She did not mean for her voice to come out raspy and drained compared to his smooth, low tone, but her fatigue was coming down on her with full force. The only thing that kept her legs moving at this point was the coldness slapping her face.

Sakura could feel his disapproving glance without removing her eyes from the ground. She knew he wanted to scold her but he quite impressively held his tongue. But his silence only irritated her. "What?" she barked at the frowning Uchiha. His frown only grew deeper as she felt his glare.

"You need to take better care of yourself."

Sakura held her tongue from a scathing reply. She had been taking care of herself for years now. She was still alive and kept others alive. He was scolding her for the aftermath caused by saving lives. It was clear in his voice that he disapproved of the exhaustion that was caused by the hours logged in the hospital. What he – and Naruto and Sasuke and Kakashi and Ino and many others – failed to understand was that she would gladly suffer the awful affects of fatigue if it meant someone lived to see another day.

The two broke out in another period of silence. Itachi did not comment on her lack of self-supporting skills. He knew better. Sakura would have pounced on him showing exactly how well she took care of herself. He was stalking her, the bitter part of Sakura concluded. He was walking her home, the realistic part of her countered. He probably thought she would fall dead on the ground. She knew the bags under her eyes looked a little frightful but she was fully capable of walking herself home.

She did not notice when they reached her home, as she was so wrapped up in her irritated mood. She did not notice the soft look Itachi was throwing at her. Sakura opened her door and looked back at Itachi as her acidic thoughts disappeared. He was casually standing in front of her, hands in pockets and shoulders placidly loose of any stiffness.

Sakura sighed as she instantly regretted the words that were going to come out of her mouth. "Would you like to come inside," she invited.

Expecting him to politely decline her offer and walk away, Itachi nodded and followed her inside. Sakura shook the surprise out of her head. Why would he want to come inside? There was no reason for him to be inside her home. Sakura resisted the urge to glare at him. He was keeping her from eating then showering then sleeping.

The pinkette opened her mouth to ask him what he wanted but the growls of her stomach blocked any words from escaping her lips. Itachi raised a brow at her as she felt her cheeks warm. She was hungry, so why was he giving her an incredulous look as if her stomach fell out her body and started walking away.

Itachi did not wait for her to muster up a response as he stalked into her kitchen, leaving the gaping kunoichi alone in her hallway. He doubted she ate anything for hours now. The little kabob snack she had at the party was probably the last meal she ate and that did not count as a proper meal. She must be starving.

He hated seeing her like this – exhausted with low chakra and bags under her eyes. Her stomach growling in hunger did not make it any easier for his scowl to disappear. She was a medic; she should know her limits. It was not the first time he saw in this state, he never got used to her walking around like a corpse. He never will. He did not like seeing her usually fresh skin blemished with dark circles and her bright eyes dulled out with tiredness. Her normally bouncy and confident gait was slowed and her irritability levels drastically increased. Itachi hated seeing her chakra levels so low he knew she would wake up with horrendous head and stomach aches.

He made his way into her kitchen. The pinkette was obviously not in any condition to make herself a real meal. She would probably fall asleep at the stove and burn herself. Plus he remembered Sasuke stating that Sakura lacked talent in the kitchen. He opened her fridge and frowned at its emptiness. What did the medic eat to stay alive? Itachi concluded to make onigiri, seeing he did not have much room to make a decent meal. He would make steamed vegetables, as Sakura needed nutrients in her system.

Itachi saw Sakura walk into the kitchen with a dubious expression but he ignored her and continued getting all the ingredients out. She walked up to the island and plopped her elbows and stared at him quite annoyingly but he continued to prepare food, not glancing at her once. He heard her huff and stomp away, muttering about taking a shower.

Sakura pouted her way to her bathroom. Itachi had officially passed Naruto and Sasuke as the most troublesome man in her life. He had no right to come into her house and start prancing around her kitchen like he owned the place. She thought he would scold her about overwhelming herself and how dangerous it was and then he would leave. Had she known he would be silently judging her about her empty kitchen, she would have never let him step into her house.

But a traitorous part of her melted when she saw him gather the very little food she had to make a meal. Since when did Itachi cook, and for her nonetheless? She always found it attractive that a man knew their way around the kitchen. She slipped off her clothes and into the shower. The warm water washed her irked thoughts away.

Sakura almost groaned as she realized she had to leave the comfort of her shower. She spent a little too much time in the shower then she anticipated. Walking into her bedroom with a towel wrapped around her lithe form, Sakura rummaged through her drawers trying to find something concealing. She did not want to repeat former events. The independent part of her mind scolded Sakura for falling prey to a stupid male. She should wear whatever she pleased in her own home. Sakura caved into her inner voice and decided to put on her long flannel shirt and cozy socks before making her way downstairs.

Her nostrils were instantly filled with a delicious aroma as the pinkette made her way down the stairs. Just from the judging smell, Sakura knew he was a better cook than her. Mikoto probably taught him her wonderful cooking skills. The thought of Mikoto teaching Itachi how to cook made her giggle.

Sakura walked into her kitchen. Itachi placed a dish filled with steamed vegetables on her island. She quickly slid onto one of the stools at observed the Uchiha slide another plate filled with onigiri towards her. Sakura took the chopsticks he handed her and quickly dug into her food. She repressed a moan. Onigiri was one of the only things Sakura could make and it was no surprise that she made it often. She had thought that after making that one item so many times, she would have mastered it by now, but Itachi's onigiri made her onigiri run for its money. Though the better part of her knew not to doubt Itachi's cooking. He was simply good at everything he did.

"How do you cook," Sakura murmured between bites. She did not care if it was impolite to eat and talk at the same time.

She noticed Itachi leaning against her counter with his arms crossed, quietly observing her eating, but she paid no attention to his dark gaze. Mikoto definitely taught him how to cook. This was absolutely delicious. Sakura never pegged Itachi to be so skillful in the kitchen.

Sakura swallowed her last bite before locking her eyes with Itachi's. "I'm thinking that I should continue to pull long hours at the hospital if that means you going to make me food," Sakura joked. Her mood had taken a complete one-eighty. All irritability for Itachi was gone. Food really did cheer her up.

Itachi, however, did not acknowledge her lighthearted jest. He pushed himself off the counter and plopped his elbows onto the island across from Sakura. He knew her comment was half a joke, half a compliment, but it went over his head. There was no way he would encourage her to pull gruesome hours at the hospital and completely drain herself.

The pinkette noticed his mood grow dismal at her comment and almost rolled her eyes. "Calm down, I promise never to spend _long_ hours at the hospital," Sakura melodramatically said. Her joke, once again, went over his head, as his nose slightly scrunched in disapproval. He was skillful on the battlefield, dance floor, and kitchen but not with humor. "I'm joking, geez, don't get so glum," Sakura rolled her eyes. She really had to help him with his sense of humor.

"I'm not glum," Itachi simply replied.

Sakura snorted. "Okay. Whatever you say." Her reply only made him gloomier.

"Hn."

Sakura laughed. She could practically see the dark clouds above his head. She pushed the plate filled with vegetables towards as Itachi shook his head. He made so much. Sakura jumped of the stool and decided to store it in her fridge as leftovers. He grabbed her empty plate of onigiri and started washing it at the sink.

The pinkette observed Itachi as he rinsed the dishes. It was weird seeing one of Konoha's strongest shinobi doing such menial house tasks, and in her kitchen nonetheless. But it was a good weird feeling. Sakura rather liked him acting so normal and would not mind seeing him continue to act so ordinary.

Sakura hopped onto her counter and dangled her legs off the edge as she continued to stare at Itachi's back. He was wearing all black – how typical – and his hair was tied perfectly in his usual low ponytail. Sakura glared at his smooth looking hair. She wondered what shampoo he used to make it look so lustrous and shiny. Why couldn't her hair look so silky? He was a guy, he did not need flawless hair. Sakura did not notice Itachi turn around and question her glare directed towards his head.

Itachi almost sucked in his breath at the sight of the pinkette. She was sitting on the island, her long toned legs swinging of the edge. She had on an oversized plaid flannel that barley reached an appropriate length. Her rose hair flowed down past her shoulders in soft waves. She looked like she came right out of an image he desperately kept pushing out of his mind. Sakura did not even realize how much her simple, innocent ivy-colored gaze affected his self-control.

Sakura's glare dissipated as she locked eyes with Itachi. She noticed the shade of his eyes turn unbelievably dark. Her kunoichi training told her that his strong grip on her counter and his suddenly tense shoulders and his gaze quickly flickering to her bare legs were cause by her rather suggestive posture.

A sly smile crossed her face as she crossed her legs, watching Itachi's face follow her moments. "Itachi," Sakura purred, "I have an question." Sakura's devious smile grew a little bigger. "I was wondering," Sakura paused, making sure her voice sounded perfectly innocent and tempting, "If you could make me onigiri tomorrow."

Itachi let go off the counter and made two confident strides to Sakura, bringing his body incredibly close to the medic. Her alluring eyes continued to lock into his, not back down. Her whole posture yelled defiance. Where did she think she was going with this act? He was not some easy fool who would so simply fall into her obvious trap. He could easily play the game she started. Itachi locked his arms on each side of Sakura and pushed himself in between her legs.

Itachi brought his mouth to her ear and whispered, "Sakura." He could feel her body shudder at his voice. A small victorious smirk played on his lips. "What are you doing?"

Itachi did not have a chance to internally gloat at her response, as Sakura grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled his body closer to hers. He could feel her warm breath against his ear. "Itachi," her heavy breath sent a treacherous shock through his body. "I have another question." Her small hands ran up his chest to his neck. "Where did you learn how to dance like that?"

His perfectly well handled control broke as his sudden movement pushed Sakura's head back as he grabbed onto her waist. Her sultry gaze quickly turned to surprise as her vision blurred and found herself falling on her bed. Sakura looked up confused at Itachi who gave her one small nod before disappearing. Sakura let her head fall back on her bed.

How frustrating. She had him perfectly wrapped around her finger before he decided to throw her little game back onto her face. There was no reason hiding it. She was attracted to Itachi. Sakura had all the proof she needed – her traitorously body responding to his just moments ago as well as at the party. Sakura let out a frustrated groan as her body suddenly became overwhelmed with fatigue. She was going to get Itachi following her every command if that was the last thing she accomplished.

He did not even answer her questions.

* * *

><p>Itachi tried to keep his growing frustration in his chest from expanding but he failed miserably as he hopped upon rooftops. It definitely was a hunter-nin scroll he saw on her dresser. He's only seen two of those scrolls before but they were extremely distinctive from other scrolls. Hunter-nin scrolls were all black, with a unique seal. Itachi only knew because he got invited into the small group on nin a few years ago. He declined and continued to serve as an ANBU, partly because the clan wanted him to stay ANBU.<p>

Why did Sakura have a hunter-nin scroll? Itachi hoped she seriously was not considering joining the group. He remembered her asking about them a while back, but he thought she would decline the offer. Tsunade had advised her to join the group, Itachi remembered Sakura telling him. He narrowed his eyes. Why would Tsunade want her in such a group? Her skills were completely antithetical to the skills needed to be a hunter-nin. Sakura was not mentally hardened enough to be a hunter-nin.

Itachi knew that it was ultimately Sakura's decision if she wanted to join the organization or not, but the thought of Sakura as a hunter-nin felt did not sit well in his stomach. He did not want her to join. It was selfish. He did not want to think of all the changes she would go through if she did join them. She would not be the wide-eyed, caring kunoichi. She would be a cold hard killer, almost like him. Itachi tried not to snarl. He did not want her to become like him. He did not want her to become another killer.

The Uchiha heir ran hand through his hair and let out a frustrated sigh. Sakura was going to be the death of him. He should not be caring this much about the medic but her face was constantly pinned in his head and he could not take those images of her out of his head no matter how hard he tried. A part of him did not want to.

She did crazy things to him and he found himself completely entrapped within her presence. Genma's party was a prime example. He did not dance. He did not want to dance, but he could not stop from responding to her suggestive movements. He found himself irritated that he responded, that he could still faintly feel her soft body rubbing against his, and that it was still affecting him. He was acting like some foolish boyfriend. He was not her boyfriend. He was her–

What was he to her? They did not have a professional relationship, or a mere friendship. Itachi's thoughts ran to Sakura. What did she think their relationship was, especially after tonight? She was clearly mad at him at first, but than she was seducing him. And he almost fell for it. He almost let her sweet, seductive voice overpower him.

He refused to admit he wanted her to wrap her long legs around his waist and let him feel every curve of her body under her loose flannel. But he refused to give her what she wanted. He honestly did not know what she wanted, but he refused to lose that little battle of hers. He would reciprocate exactly what she was doing to him. Make her feel what she was making him feel. Itachi sighed once again. He was acting like some foolish boyfriend. He did not want to point fingers but it was all Sakura's fault. She kept making him feel all these emotions.

Itachi hopped through his apartment window and decided to spend the night here. He did not feel comfortable sleeping at the Uchiha district with all these pent up emotions within him. He did not want to be surrounded by the rigidity and pressure of the place. Itachi needed some peace, especially after spending time with Sakura.

Tomorrow he would go see the hokage. He would not let Sakura become a hunter-nin.

* * *

><p>Two blonde eyebrows rose. "Repeat that again, Uchiha."<p>

Itachi resisted the urge to clear his throat. He was here out of respect. There was no doubt the hokage would approve of his request but he had decided to inform Tsunade first. Tsunade was her mentor and would be affected if Sakura decided to accept his offer. "I will be requesting Haruno-san as a permanent member of team eleven."

The blonde Sannin leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms and thoroughly examined him. She was observing him – his posture, his expression, and any signs that would confirm whatever doubts she had. Her intense gaze felt unnerving, but Itachi stood still and let no emotions cross his face. He was not going to back down.

"Haruno-san huh?" Tsunade said, her tone sounded almost like a question, as she leaned forward and rested her chin in her hands. Her voice sounded slightly sardonic, but did not reveal the pun she was internally laughing at. Itachi resisted the urge to narrow his eyes at the blonde. What was the Sannin implying?

"She is a very capable kunoichi. Her talents as a medical-nin could greatly benefit the village," Itachi replied stoically.

Tsunade scoffed. "Her talents as a medical-nin are already greatly benefiting the village. She does not need to permanently join the ANBU to accomplish what she already is accomplishing."

Itachi bit his tongue from replying too quickly. Tsunade looked suspicious. He did not want his manner to suddenly pique her interest, if she was not already inquisitive at his request. "I understand," Itachi smoothly replied, closing his eyes for the briefest moment before continuing, "but her joining the ANBU would further progress–"

"Cut the crap Uchiha, why do you really want Sakura to join your team?" Tsunade interrupted, her voice revealing the no-nonsense attitude she perfected. She was done dancing around the elephant in the room. Sakura used the same tone when she wanted to get right to point, Itachi mused.

He locked his dark eyes with honey colored ones. "Sakura does not suit being a hunter-nin."

Tsunade scoffed as she smirked. So that was why Itachi was permanently requesting her apprentice to be part of his team. He did not want her to become a hunter-nin. She completely understood the reasons behind his statement. Sakura barely qualified for the eligibility to be a hunter-nin. She grasped his unease concerning the medic joining such organization. Her skills as a medic would be wasted.

He called Sakura by her first name. His little slip concerned Tsunade the most. She did not realize that Itachi and Sakura were close enough to be on a first name basis. Sakura had been accompanying his team on missions for almost two years; the pinkette was basically a permanent part of the team. But Sakura never revealed anything but utter professionalism when concerning the Uchiha. Heck, she even remembered teasing Sakura about the random dates her Yamanaka friend always set on.

Images of the tension between Itachi and Sakura at the meeting yesterday flashed through Tsunade's head. Her suspicions were right. There was definitely something going on between the two. Protocol stated that two shinobi who were in a relationship could not participate on the same team. If there was anything romantic going on between the two, Itachi was breaking the rules by requesting Sakura to officially be a permanent member on his team. Tsunade never deemed Itachi the one to break rules.

"Sakura does not belong in that organization," Tsunade agreed, her face softening for a quick moment, "but it is not my decision."

There he was back at step one. He knew no matter how many recommendations, it was ultimately Sakura's decision if she wanted to join the hunter-nin or not. He knew, however, that Sakura took Tsunade's advice and counsel seriously. If Tsunade was adamant about Sakura joining that organization, he knew Sakura would most likely join.

"Why did you recommend her to join," Itachi asked, his curiosity getting the better of him. Tsunade did just agree that Sakura would not fit in.

"It isn't any of your business," Tsunade sharply said before sighing. She never pegged the Uchiha to be so nosy. The younger generation was hopeless. "Sakura will learn if she joins hunter-nin." Tsunade refrained from rolling her eyes at the obviously confused Uchiha. "She's soft."

It all made sense. Itachi finally understood why Tsunade would recommend and support Sakura joining that organization. Where he was trying to protect the rare innocent, unblemished portion of Sakura, Tsunade wanted to exploit it. She knew very well, maybe even better than him, that Sakura was compassionate and selfless. Those traits were very dangerous in the shinobi lifestyle. They were the traits that usually get a shinobi killed. Tsunade was not punishing Sakura. She was trying to teach the pinkette a lesson Sakura never learned. Tsunade wanted Sakura to understand death. Even though Sakura completed countless missions, he knew that Sakura was a very sheltered kunoichi.

Itachi learned this lesson very early in his childhood. The Third Shinobi World War plagued his dreams as if it occurred just yesterday. He did not wish for the younger shinobi to ever experience a time of war and loss. He was hardened. Tsunade was hardened. Sakura was not hardened and it was extremely dangerous for her as the kunoichi to be soft.

Tsunade sighed and subbed her temples. "I've been trying to teach her the weight of death for a while now," she chuckled slowly, "but she keeps saving all her patients."

Itachi frowned, and it only made the blonde Sannin chuckle a little louder. She found it amusing that however so talented the Uchiha was, he lacked humor. Itachi did not understand what was so funny. His forehead must resemble something humorous because it never seemed to get the joke.

Tsunade's face became serious again. "What are you doing?" Her question was vague and Itachi did not want to risk answering wrongly and revealing something he should not have. "You shouldn't be pursuing her," Tsunade started, almost as a warning. She did not miss his jaw clenching. "She'll be the one coming out hurt when its over."

* * *

><p>Sakura woke up with a smile on her face. Literally. She never felt so rejuvenated and well rested before. She did not even mind that she woke up a little after noon – ignoring the fact that she would normally panic if she woke up this late – and spent a good portion of her day sleeping. She deserved sleep after all she experienced in the last couple of days.<p>

Thoughts of last did not affect her in any way. She was in a good mood and nothing could change it. Her inner started listing the things that would automatically piss her off but Sakura ignored them. She was going to give herself the day off – no hospital shifts, no trainings, no anything stressful. Sakura was determined to enjoy the day.

She was going to go to that little café she ran into Itachi and order buba buba mango herbal tea. Sakura first doubted Itachi's reason for ordering a drink with such a name but felt guilty at her doubt. Buba buba mango herbal tea was the best-flavored drink she ever tasted and made several trips down to that very café to order the drink several times after their meeting. They had really good dango too. Sakura squealed at the thought. Dango for breakfast… or lunch.

Sakura quickly brushed her teeth and splashed her face with water. The pinkette wrapped her green haori around her before throwing on her trusty tall boots. She could feel it in her bones. Today was going to be a great day. Sakura left her house in a better mood than she woke up in.

Sakura exchanged polite pleasantries with the people she ran into while walking down the street. They were mostly civilians and barraged her to why they have not seen her in a while. It was true, Sakura was so busy with the hospital and trainings and missions that she completely forgot about the small relationships she had with surrounding neighbors. Sakura made a mental note to visit Hira-san later in the day. Hira was her elderly neighbor who acted more like a protective grandmother towards the pinkette.

As the pinkette walked into Iro's Café, Sakura's eyes coincidently locked with familiar dark ones. Normally, Sakura would have an internal battle of her next steps. But now Sakura instantly walked over to the Uchiha, who was sporting her favorite drink and scrolls. A sense of déjà vu overwhelmed Sakura as she took her seat across from Itachi.

"This feels familiar," Sakura said with a smile, receiving an agreeing nod from her companion, "What scrolls are you reading this time?"

Déjà vu indeed. The corners of Itachi's lips faintly turned upwards. "This is a mission scroll."

Sakura's ear piqued at the answer as she slightly leaned forward. "Oh do we have a mission?"

Sakura said 'we'. She considered herself a part of his team. He could not explain why that sent a warm feeling in his stomach. Itachi observed Sakura's countenance – it was guileless and completely genuine. Her open and sincere personality was what Tsunade was talking about earlier. He could clearly see the innocence flooding in her eyes.

"This mission does not require you," Itachi stated stoically, almost feeling contrite at his choice of words and her small wince.

"Oh." Itachi could hear the slight disappointment laced in her voice. He sighed and regretted his decision to inform her about the mission before he even told Shisui and Genma. She would find out about the mission sooner or later. It would be better if it she heard it from him, rather than read about it on the mission roster long after he was gone.

"Team eleven is being sent to the borders–"

"For patrol," Sakura finished. Her obvious discomfort and dislike displayed clearly on her face.

After his morning chat with Tsunade, he had been immediately summoned to the hokage's office. The Sandaime wanted to send team eleven out to the borders for patrol, especially considering they were down in numbers after the attack. The Akatsuki committed the attacks, as Intelligence recently confirmed.

Team eleven's cover mission was border patrol. Their real mission was to pursue and subdue any Akatsuki that were to be sighted on the Fire Country's borders. The hokage wanted to send Sakura as well but Tsunade had convinced him – probably last night when she privately talked to the Sarutobi after the meeting – that Sakura's presence within Konoha was too important to send her out on a hunt chase. Tsunade was ironically protecting the pinkette even after telling him that she wanted the pinkette to harden. How contradictory of the Senju. He knew, however, that he wanted Sakura inside Konoha where it was safe as well.

"How long are you assigned out at the borders," Sakura asked, peeking up almost shyly at him.

"Five months." Itachi averted his eyes as he heard an intake of breath from the pinkette. He felt almost guilty and responsible for her change of mood.

Itachi absentmindedly stared out the window. He should not feel responsible for her sudden downcast mood. He did not command the Akatsuki to attack Konoha nin for there to create a shortage of border patrollers thus leading team eleven being dispatched from the village. But somehow he felt responsible for the small frown that played on Sakura's lips. He almost scoffed. He felt intense delight, guilt, and confusion all under five minutes because of the pinkette.

"I'm assuming you're leaving tonight?" Sakura asked.

Itachi slightly shook his head. "Tomorrow morning."

He watched Sakura, who seemed deep in thought. She suddenly blinked all the small doleful expression evaporated into a growing smile. She grabbed his buba buba mango herbal tea, wrapped her luscious lips around the straw, and took an extra long sip before smirking at him. "I guess you only have tonight to relax."

Itachi looked at her carefully, not knowing where her train of thoughts was going and not wanting to make any assumptions. "I think team eleven to go Yakiniku Q for dinner," Sakura exclaimed with a bright smile as if it was the greatest idea in the world, "Don't give me that look, I won't see you guys for five months."

What look was she talking about? He was perfectly controlling every look on his face. Itachi sighed and relented. "I'll–"

"Shisui can pay," Sakura interrupted, thinking he was going to protest the idea, "Since he's always pushing for more team bonding. Think of it as team intercommunication practice." She winked at him, trying to sell the idea. If she only let him finish, he was going to inform the other two.

"We–"

"Oh come on Itachi, it'll be fun. You should enjoy yourself more often. Life is too short to be dark and broody all the time. It'll be nothing like Genma's party, I swear." Itachi twitched at her statement. She just had to bring up the party. And why did she continue to interrupt him? He almost felt insulted at her explanation. He was not Sasuke – he was not dark and broody. "You'll have so much fun, I promise." Itachi looked at her big puppy dog eyes and extended bottom lip that formed a pout. She was going to be the death of him.

He sighed before grabbing his buba buba mango herbal tea from her hands and taking a sip. "Ok," Itachi finally spoke. A victorious smile graced Sakura's lips.

Sakura leaned back in the booth triumphantly, as if she won a marathon. "You know, you never answered my questions from last night," Sakura said with a smirk.

Itachi closed his eyes and mirrored her expression. She was not going to let this go. The little minx. "Ah," Itachi responded. He could feel a spike of frustration from the pinkette at his response. If he remembered correctly, Sakura was not so fond of his signature locution – '_what does that even mean'_ she would always question.

"If I could cook like that, I would team up with Naruto and open a restaurant," Sakura somewhat proudly stated. She complimented his cooking. "I tried to make dinner once a few years ago for team seven," Sakura tapped her bottom lip recalling the memory as her cheeks slightly pinked with embarrassment, "It didn't turn out so great."

Itachi remembered perfectly well. "Sasuke threw up three times that night," he stated. If he remembered correctly, Itachi had just returned home from a mission. He was exhausted and wanted to fall into his bed. Except, Sasuke's throwing up kept him awake all night. He did know why Sasuke's stomach was aching so badly so suddenly – as his brother rarely got sick – but his Okaasan mentioned his Otouto had gone to Sakura's for dinner.

A flash of exasperation bolted through Sakura's face as her jaw dropped slightly. "My cooking wasn't that bad," she countered with an angry look.

"He did not get any sleep that night."

Sakura bit her tongue from lashing out something witty and brash at Itachi. Ok, her cooking was not the greatest. In fact, she did not have any cooking skills at all, but that was beside the point. He did not have to be so blunt about it. She complimented his cooking and he insulted hers. He could have at least sugarcoated her shortcomings in the kitchen. Sakura save him a dirty look, grabbed his buba buba mango herbal tea, and stomped off to another booth and sat down.

Itachi stared at the empty seat in front of her incredulously. He did not know what was more disbelieving, she stomping away like a little child at his completely honest comment or her stomping away with his buba buba mango herbal tea. He glanced over at Sakura sitting at the booth across from him, innocently sipping his drink.

Was this what his Okaasan was always lecturing him and Sasuke about? Women were always right even when they were wrong. Did Sakura prefer him to lie to her? She was the no-nonsense type who preferred honesty. She was acting childish. There was no reason for her to get so upset this foolish matter. She could not cook, even she admitted it herself. Apparently, it was wrong for him to admit it too. It made no sense. He almost wanted to reprimand her for her behavior but knew that if he even attempted to chide her, Sakura would surely behave more immaturely.

He had to be the bigger person. Itachi sighed and got up from his booth and walked over to hers and swiftly slid across from her. He almost rolled his eyes at her behavior. She was completely ignoring him and it made him appalled, angry, and sorry. If he ever displayed this kind of defiance towards his Otousan or the clan in general, he was positive he would be locked up within the Uchiha estate for the rest of his life. He would not even think about being as obstinate and resistant as Sakura was at the moment.

He was not going to apologize for his honesty. "You are acting childish."

Sakura stopped slurping down his buba buba mango herbal tea and stared at him incredulously. "I'm not acting childish," Sakura countered childishly. "You're being rude, and I don't want to surround myself with such negativity." She slurped the last of his drink and slammed the empty cup. Itachi's eye twitched at the empty cup.

Sakura crossed her arms and turned her head melodramatically away from him. Itachi raised his brows at her acts. He was not being negative. She was being uncooperative. His mother's warnings came to his ears – '_always apologize, even when you're wrong'_. He sighed. He, the Uchiha Itachi, was being blamed for being honest. A kunoichi with ridiculous hair was mad at him and he was seriously considering apologizing, even when he was faultless. Oh, how the great fall.

"I apologize."

Sakura 'hmph-ed' and turned her head the other away, still refusing to look at him. Why was she acting like he stabbed her cat and had it for dinner? Last time he checked, Sakura had no cat and was a horrible cook. Why was she so mad that he spoke the truth?

"Why are you still mad?" Itachi asked incredulously. He did not understand the reason behind her logic of still being mad at him. He apologized. He waved the white flag. He let her win. What more did she want? His mother's advice and warnings regarding women did not help at all. Sakura was too stubborn to accept hid apology.

Sakura glared at him with her piercing, ivy eyes. She looked more frustrated. She jabbed an accusing finger in his direction and spat, "You don't even know what you're apologizing for."

"So?"

The sincere confused look on his face only further angered the pinkette. She stood up. "I'm leaving." With that, she turned, her hair flipping dramatically behind her, and left Iro's Café. Itachi stared confused, disbelieved, and irritated at her retreating figure. Her short skirt only heightened his irritation as the shock and disbelief faded quickly.

What a jerk. Sakura could not believe him. She took Itachi for a lot of things, but rude was never one of them. He sure knew the best way to break a girl's spirits. Maybe they taught that too all Uchiha in Uchiha school. She should have taken Itachi's mission scroll and threw it on his head.

Nothing could damper her perfect mood like Itachi could. Sakura tried not to pout but her lower lip kept sticking up. She looked like a child whose parents refused to buy candy at the supermarket. A gust of cold wind sent shivers down her back as Sakura glared at her bare legs. Now her skirt was making her mad.

A part of her knew she was being a little overdramatic. But Sakura could not pinpoint exactly where her sudden frustration at Itachi's words came from. If it were anyone else insulting her lack of cooking skills, she would give them an earful and be over with it. But not with Itachi. She was definitely not over with it. Why did she even care about Itachi's opinions on her cooking? She was a strong, independent, intelligent woman. Tsunade would be disappointed in her if she found out Itachi was tampering with her insecurities and she was letting it get to her. So what she could not cook? It's what distinguished her from the rest of the crowd.

Her inner scoffed at her reasoning. She was going to starve one day because of her lack of cooking skills. Sakura sighed. Itachi did apologize, even though he only apologized to placate her. He genuinely did not know that his brutal honesty was insulting. Half of her could not be mad at him for not knowing what ticked her off, but the other half was seething because he did not understand what pissed her off. Men. They were all stupid – no matter what rank or position they held or where they came from.

The only person Sakura felt bad for was Sasuke.

* * *

><p>Knock. Knock.<p>

Sakura glared at the direction of her door. She made no attempt to leave the comfort of her couch. She was currently curled up reading a medical scroll while she took occasional sips of hot cocoa. Maybe if she ignored them, they would think no one was home and leave. She was far too comfortable to move.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

They would leave. Sakura was positive. Her eyes made their way back to the scroll in her hands. After the whole Itachi-ruined-my-mood debacle, Sakura stayed in the coziness of her own home for the rest of the day. She did laundry, twice, and cleaned her house so thoroughly that her house was actually sparkling. Her Okaasan would be so proud.

Sakura narrowed her eyes as she continued to feel their chakra outside her door. Did they not get the hint? She did not want to be disturbed. They knew she was making no movements to greet them, so why did they continue to stand outside her house? Realizing that they would not leave until she forced them out her doorstep, Sakura angrily threw her fluffy blanket off her and stomped out of her living room and down the hallway. Oh was she going to give them an earful. All men in her life were frustrating. All of them.

Sakura nearly pulled her door out of its hinges. She stared at two dark-haired Uchiha. Shisui had a wide, cheerful grin as Itachi had his hands in his pockets as he sported a stoic expression. "What do you want?" Sakura bitterly asked with her arms crossed.

Shisui's sugary smile faltered for the quickest second. If it were not for Sakura's well-trained eyes, she would have completely missed the slight slip. "I thought team eleven was going to have a dinner at Yakiniku Q before we were shipped to the border," Shisui innocently explained.

Sakura almost fell for his benign and gentle voice but one glance back at Itachi made her stick her nose in the air rather childishly. "I already had dinner."

"It's ok, Ita-chan is paying," Shisui tried to coax. Sakura could feel Itachi's glare directed at the back of Shisui's eyes.

It took Sakura hours to calm herself down from the encounter with Itachi this morning. She admitted she was acting a little childish and overdramatic and felt a little guilty about her actions and stomping out of the café. But one look at Itachi's stoic and inscrutable posture behind Shisui made her tightly detained emotions break free. He was making her go crazy. How could Itachi look so composed and unaffected after this afternoon? After last night? After Genma's party?

"I have these really bad stomach aches, I don't think I'll be able to enjoy eating out tonight," Sakura deviously replied. Itachi's faint twitch sent a small triumphant smile to sneak onto her face.

"I know this really good–"

"I'm sorry Shisui, I really don't feel well," Sakura apologized. Shisui's sincerely looked heartbroken. He was giving her puppy dog eyes. She refused to fall for this dirty trick that Shisui and Naruto use against her. She was not going to… Sakura sighed. "Ok, fine. I'll come. Let me grab my boots." Shisui gave her a big smile as she disappeared inside.

Shisui quickly turned and glared at Itachi, "What did you do to our poor Sakura-chan?" Shisui accused, growing suspicious of Itachi's unusual behavior. Itachi wore a confused expression but Shisui saw right through it. "I feel like I just entered hostile territory," Shisui whispered.

Itachi informed him earlier that Sakura wanted team eleven to go out for dinner together before their mission tomorrow morning. Shisui was overwhelmed with glee at first but then suspicion ran through him. How did Itachi know Sakura wanted to grab dinner? Did she tell him? Were they hanging out? Itachi's rather moody disposition only further proved his suspicions. Itachi and Sakura were together earlier, and somehow the pinkette managed to convince his reclusive cousin to be her messenger bird.

They were progressing in their relationship and Shisui could not be any happier. It meant he and his accomplice did not have to interfere much. But seeing Sakura express her annoyance and irritation at his baby cousin almost made him bit his nails in frustration and nervousness. He did not know what happened between the two for Sakura to so visibly throw senseless excuses for skipping dinner but Shisui knew that Itachi's insensitivity was probably the cause behind Sakura's dark mood.

"Ok, lets go," Sakura said as she stepped out of her house. Shisui's glare quickly dissipated into a smile as he threw a warning look at Itachi as Sakura linked arms with Shisui. "So, what did you do today?" Sakura asked.

"Oh, nothing really interesting. Just trained a little," Shisui said with an over exaggerated bored expression, "What did you do today?"

"I slept in and then I decided to go to my favorite café but my stomach started aching so I had to stay in for the rest of the day," Sakura explained with a innocent smile.

Itachi glared at the two walking with linked arms in front of him. They were bluntly ignoring his presence and Sakura was throwing sarcastic references about him. He wondered if the two would notice if he were to slip away. He, however, did not want to suffer Shisui's incessant lecturing if he did not come and pay for dinner. Itachi closed his eyes and sighed. He was not looking forward to Sakura's scornful attitude and jeering comments throughout dinner. He would, however, have to suffer through it.

They three reached Yakiniku Q and found Genma waiting for them. "Ah, Sakura, beautiful as ever," Genma winked as Sakura sat across from him.

"Genma, so good to see you," Sakura smiled back. Shisui sat down next to Sakura. He normally would have been adamant about Itachi sitting next to the medic, but did not want to take any chances. Sakura was being a little too sarcastic. Women and sarcasm never was a good sign, especially when it was directed at men.

The four dug into their food. Shisui watched Sakura eagerly munch down a piece of meat. "I thought your stomach was aching Sakura-chan," Shisui playfully teased.

"The aches went away," Sakura teased back as she fought Genma for a piece of steak. She threw him a glare and victoriously grabbed the steak with her chopsticks.

"We're going to miss you Sakura-chan," Shisui wrapped an arm around the medic, "Who's going to knock some common sense into Genma when he's misbehaving."

"I'm sure Itachi could put him in a timeout," Sakura replied. Genma choked on his drink, trying to control his laughter. Genma and Shisui exchanged a glance before looking at Itachi, who was grabbing his chopsticks with a little more force than necessary. They looked back at Sakura who was innocently chewing on her food.

"Itachi doesn't seem the type of person to put someone in a timeout, don't you think so Sakura," Genma teased, raising his eyebrows. There was no way he was not going to let an opportunity to tease Itachi pass.

Sakura responded with a grin. "You're right, he seems like the type to give a spanking and be over with it." This time Genma broke out into loud fits of laughter as Shisui grinned widely and threw a knowing look at Itachi. Itachi definitely did something to Sakura. Shisui could not figure out if the outcomes were positive or negative.

The pinkette was apparently still mad and throwing out sarcastic remarks. Itachi tried not to scowl but it was very hard to stop the downward turn of his lips. He did not spank anyone as a punishment. What kinds of ridiculous stuff were going on through Sakura's head? He held his tongue. He refused to act as foolishly as Sakura was.

The rest of dinner went normal – Genma continuing to tease him and using Sakura, who willfully assisted, as a weapon. Shisui kept throwing looks at him that Itachi continued to overlook. He knew that Shisui and Genma kept looking at each other confused at Sakura's obvious ignorance of him. Sakura barely looked at him throughout the whole dinner and it frustrated him more than he should have cared. Itachi was completely over his head. He did not understand why Sakura was so completely mad at him.

He thought he did a rather nice thing about arranging the dinner. After Sakura stomped away earlier, Itachi knew that she was not going to execute the plan about having a team eleven dinner. Itachi took it up to him to tell Shisui and Genma about Sakura's idea of a team dinner. He thought Sakura would be pleased that he carried out her plan. But he was wrong. Sakura did not look pleased that he and Shisui came to pick her up. She, in fact, ignored their presence when they came. How frustrating.

As Shisui promised, Itachi was left with the bill. As soon as the team stepped outside the barbeque restaurant, Shisui and Genma suddenly disappeared. He looked at the confused Sakura at their disappearance. Her brows scrunch together adorably whenever she was pissed. He observed her annoyed countenance subside. She turned and started walking away. The Uchiha estate was the other way but he found his legs following after Sakura. He was going to make sure she reached her home safely. He knew that she knew he was following after her, but she made no movements to tell him to go away. Itachi fell into step next to her.

Sakura's irritated mood disappeared as her house came to view. The unreasonable frustration and annoyance against Itachi abated as a sense of dread overcame the pinkette. This was going to be the last time she saw Itachi for five months. She knew that Konoha borders were not the safest place especially with the sudden Akatsuki sightings. What if Itachi came to contact with the feared organization? Would he fight them? Sakura knew that Itachi was one of Konoha's strongest shinobi, but he was still human. He bled just like everyone else. He could die, just like everyone else. Itachi was strong, but he was still human.

Sakura walked to her door and turned around to face Itachi. She was sure he was questioning the fearful and disconsolate expression on her face and her sudden down attitude, but she did not care. She did not want him to go to the border. Sure, a part of her was still pretty annoyed at his lack of social knowledge, but her heart went out to him.

Itachi was gentle. He was pacifist. He did not like violence and killing and he was being stationed in one of the most violent places in Konoha. He would, however, do anything and everything to protect the village. After working under him in his team, Sakura knew he was an odd shinobi. Itachi carried out and completed every mission given to him under perfect compliance. He did not argue, he did not question. He completed. It hurt Sakura to know that it silently hurt him to be a shinobi and carry out these missions.

"I'd invite you in but I don't think I need you to make me dinner tonight," Sakura joked, trying to break the heavy atmosphere between them. Itachi continued to look at her seriously. She felt utterly exposed under his glance. He was digging through her walls and she did not have the power to try and stop him. "Good luck on your mission."

She got no response from the Uchiha. Sakura tried giving him a smile, but could barely manage to curl her lips upwards. This was goodbye. She would either see him in five months or see a dead body sent back.

"Thank you," Itachi thanked, a few moments later. He made no move to leave.

"Tonight was fun," Sakura responded, trying to fill in the silence. Thoughts of her sour attitude towards Itachi made her frown.

"Ah." The look on his face told Sakura that he was also thinking back to her ignorance of him at dinner.

"Take care of them," Sakura said. Shisui and Genma were not her original team, but they were still her teammates nonetheless. Over their countless missions together, the two goofs started becoming very precious people to her. If anything were to happen to them, Sakura did not know what she would do. "And give Genma a spanking if he needs one."

Itachi smirked. Sakura smiled at him finally softening his glance. "I think you need a spanking," Itachi said lowly, as his deep, seductive tenor sent goose bumps down Sakura's arm and a blush to creep onto her cheeks, "You were very misbehaved tonight."

"I–I, err, " Sakura stuttered as a smug look appeared on Itachi's face. Was he suddenly closer to her? Sakura could not tell. "You deserved it." Itachi smiled softly at Sakura's embarrassment. Their morning debacle was completely forgotten. Sakura's flushed smile sent a warm feeling throughout his body.

Her flustered expression turned solemn. She was undoubtedly thinking of his mission. He did not deserve her concerned look. She should not be so dismal about him leaving. It was his duty. She would do the same if she were asked. Itachi could not understand why she looked so glum. The heavy atmosphere between them returned. Before Itachi could bid his final farewell and leave, Sakura threw her arms around him. He was entrapped against a warm, soft body. He barely hugged her back before Sakura pulled back quickly and gave him a small smile. "Come back soon." Come back alive. That was what she wanted to say but knew that that request was above him.

With a nod, he disappeared. Sakura stared at the empty spot that was once occupied by Itachi. She could still feel his scent on her. He would come back. He would. Itachi was strong and very capable. And he was only going to be gone for five months. Many shinobi were stationed at the border for eight or more months.

"So," a voice interrupted Sakura's melancholy mood, "that's your Uchiha boyfriend." Sakura's jaw dropped and cheeks flushed as she looked up to her elderly neighbor. Hira was sitting on her porch. She had apparently seen the whole interaction between Sakura and Itachi.

"He's not my boyfriend Hira-san," Sakura countered. What made her think Itachi was her boyfriend?

"Tch," the old woman scoffed as she returned to her knitting, "my old eyes must be playing tricks on me again. You're right Sakura-chan. You don't have a boyfriend. You're dying alone and miserable, right?"

Sakura's eyebrows scrunched at Hira's joking. Great. Everyone thought she was going to die alone and miserable. Sakura snorted at the support. She needed to surround herself with new people.

* * *

><p><em>There's nothing I could say to you<em>

_Nothing I could ever do_

_To make you see_

_What you mean to me_

-Avril Lavigne "I will be"

* * *

><p><strong>Hello lovelies! Long time no update (according to my standards). Instead of spending 3-4 days profusely writing like a maniac, I wrote little everyday until I finished the chapter. I rather like this strategy better. I don't feel so overwhelmed.<strong>

**College will be starting soon, so I can't spoil you all with five chapters a month anymore. My course load this semester is really heavy but I promise I'll continue to write. I'm adamant about finishing this story within this academic year. My goal is to update at least one chapter a month or three chapters every two months.**

**This chapter spans around a day-ish. The story is going to start moving a little faster now, especially with Itachi being sent out to the borders. Spoiler alert, Itachi dies. LOL. Just kidding. Itachi doesn't die… at least while he's out at the borders. Hehe, no one panic.**

**I think we're at the point in Itachi and Sakura's relationship where they both have strong feelings for each other and are starting to accept that those feelings are there and aren't going anywhere. Things are going to get interesting concerning their relationship status. And what of Tsunade's warning? Hehe.**

**I recently wrote a one-shot about Naruto x The Little Mermaid. It's a NaruSaku though, but I encourage you guys to go check it out and let me know what you guys think about it. It's a really quick read, way shorter than any of chapters for this story. I'm thinking about expanding that one-shot into a long fic but I'm not going to write for that story until we're nearing the end of this story, and we're about a quarter way finished for EOF.**

**Hope you all enjoyed, your comments really made my heart melt. Thank you so much.**

**Until next time.**

**~im-rite-here**


	7. Letters

Chapter Seven – Letters

* * *

><p><em>And with words unspoken<em>

_A silent devotion_

_I know you know what I mean_

_And the end is unknown_

_But I think I'm ready_

_As long as you're with me_

-The XX "Angels"

* * *

><p><em>Itachi, <em>

_I hope things at the borders are not too dangerous._

_I was getting worried since Sasuke mentioned that you did not respond to the letters he sent. I hope you're still alive… and Shisui and Genma. How are they doing?_

_Sasuke is in the hospital right now. He and Naruto had an extra arduous training session. Apparently Naruto bet that since he had more chakra, he could beat Sasuke, and since Sasuke is Sasuke, he refused to believe Naruto could beat him. So the two sparred until Kakashi-sensei interfered. I swear I've spent half my life healing those two idiots. Next time they train to the point they have to be hospitalized, I'm not healing them, or I'll just make them eat my cooking._

_Make sure you're allowing yourself proper rest. If I find out that you're overexerting yourself, I'm going to fail your psyche evaluation again and this time I'll make sure you have to attend counseling._

_Counseling actually isn't that bad. I had to attend counseling once. It does help pent out things you normally wouldn't say and come to useful realizations. You're the first person I've told about this so you better not tell anyone._

_Take care and keep safe. _

_Sakura_

* * *

><p><em>Sakura,<em>

_Borders are one of the most dangerous areas in the country. We are not stationed within camp for long periods of time, like other teams and nin. We have mostly been patrolling and there seem no signs of extreme danger anywhere, although the threat of Akatsuki sightings always lingers in the air._

_We were out patrolling for the past two weeks; I did not have a chance to write back to my Otouto. When we are at base camp, there is more time for leisure – like writing back letters and getting a few extra hours of sleep._

_Shisui and Genma are well, although Shisui often complains about not having a medic on the team to easily heal his injuries. Your presence within this team is greatly missed. I would propose that you think about joining team eleven as a permanent member but I am sure that your duties at the hospital and team seven hold greater importance._

_Sasuke has a tendency not to back away from a fight, like your blonde teammate. I ask that you make sure my foolish brother and his equally foolish teammate do not end up hurting themselves to the point of hospitalization. If they do, I give you my blessing not to heal them. They should know better than to train to the point that their injuries are so grave, that they need to be admitted to the hospital. I assume my Okaasan was not pleased either._

_I apologize if you had taken offense when I commented on your cooking. I did not mean to insult you. Looking back, I understand where your anger was coming from. Thank you for complimenting my cooking. Okaasan taught me a few recipes here and there. On a lighter note, I am sure that you can use your cooking skills as a fine form of punishment._

_Your threats of failing my psyche exam never ceases to amuse me, as they do not frighten me per say. I find them quite entertaining that you threat your superior with such things. I wonder if you threaten your other superiors as well. I doubt that the hokage would allow one of his best shinobi to idly sit in the village. Your remarks about flunking my exam will only backfire to you. I highly suggest you come up with other ultimatums, as your current one will not work anymore._

_I still, however, wonder how you managed to fail my psyche exam. Such breach in policy could potentially weaken Konoha if it were to get in the wrong hands. Not everyone has a good heart like you._

_I was not aware that you had counseling sessions before. I admit that I did not know of your activities before you started joining team eleven on missions, but I never took you for the kunoichi to be assigned to these sessions. If I may ask, how did you end up in counseling? It is a rather personal matter, I do not expect you to answer. But do not worry, your secret is safe with me._

_I hope everything in Konoha is going well._

_Take care of yourself. _

_Itachi_

* * *

><p><em>Itachi,<em>

_I'm actually really surprised you responded. But I'm glad too. I assumed that you're really busy with patrolling to write letters._

_Sasuke misses you, even though he'd never say it out loud. You're his brother and he really looks up at you almost as a god-like figure. I don't understand… you're very talented but you're not_ that_ amazing. You did fail your psyche exam last time I checked. And don't worry about him, I have him and Naruto under control. Shannaro._

_I have come to peace with my inability to foster an edible meal. I'm sure you can prance around my kitchen again and make me dinner if I'm completely famished. It's not like you need my permission. I'm taking your suggestion and using my cooking as a weapon. I threatened Sasuke and Naruto that I was going to feed them my cooking if I ever saw them in the hospital again and they have been extremely well behaved since then._

_And I don't threaten my superiors. Kakashi-sensei doesn't count, he's like family to me. I would never talk to the Sandaime like that though – actually I probably would if I could get away with it. Consider it a good thing if I threaten you. It means I care._

_Although I'm really flattered, I don't think that I can be a permanent member of team eleven. There are not enough highly trained medical-nins. I think it would be more beneficial to the village if I stay as a temporary medical-nin to team eleven and rotate my time between different teams (as I am doing right now). My duties at the hospital are also too great for me to be a full member of team eleven. Plus, I think Sasuke and Naruto would riot if I permanently join Sasuke's psycho older brother's team._

_No offense._

_The village is doing fine. It's pretty boring here._

_I've been training with team seven and working at the hospital. I also assisted a couple ANBU teams on their missions, although I've grown to prefer team eleven over other ANBU teams._

_It's been a little over three months since you guys left for the borders. It's definitely colder in Konoha. We got a lot of snow this year almost three feet. I think the last time we got this much snow I was still a genin. Konoha looks so beautiful covered in white. It sucks because I can't wear my beloved skirts in this weather. Pity._

_Konoha almost looks like Yukigakure. Just thinking about Yukigakure and our last mission there gives me extra chills. If team eleven is ever assigned a mission there, I'm not accepting it. I refuse to go to that freezing cold island. I feel bad for the genin though, as the genin teams are assigned to clean the snow-covered streets._

_The hospital is crammed with sick patients. Naruto had a cold and passed it down to Konohamaru who passed it down to Shikamaru who passed it down to Ino who passed it down to me. Everyone has a cold. I'm pretty sure you're safer at the borders than in Konoha._

_I had this one patient, a civilian in his late twenties, who proposed to me. It was super awkward. He came in with a high fever and other flu-like symptoms. He kept on barraging me with reasons why we would make a great couple until he fainted. He just fainted out of nowhere! I had to rush him into surgery, as I later found out he has a heart condition. Now I feel bad about declining his marriage proposal. He was kind of cute. He said he was the owner of Konoha's best massage therapy services. I'll have to check it out and he owes me. I saved his life after all._

_I was assigned counseling years ago, when Sasuke left with Orochimaru and Naruto was with Jiraiya. I only had a few sessions but they really helped. I highly recommend them, especially to you – knowing that you failed you psyche exam._

_I'll never tell you how I managed to do that. Never ever. It's a secret. I'm sure you understand. You'll be guessing for the rest of your life._

_You missed New Years in Konoha. There were fireworks. I went to the little garden on the hokage mountain to watch the display. You would've really enjoyed show. It was breathtaking, a little more beautiful than the ones at the fall festival._

_Mikoto-san invited team seven for dinner a few times. She really misses you._

_Speaking about cooking earlier, Sasuke makes the best chocolate chip cookies. Who would've known?! Sasuke and Naruto stayed over my house one night and he said he could make cookies from scratch. We had to go buy ingredients because I have no food stocked in my home, but Naruto and I had to see it for real. And man, Sasuke wasn't lying. His cookies are fantastic. Can you make cookies? I bake. My cookies are ok, but I don't make them from scratch like Sasuke._

_What are with you Uchiha and your perfect hair and dancing abilities and amazing culinary skills? It's not fair. Tell me your secrets._

_Is it the shampoo you use? I use the same shampoo as Pakkun, Kakashi-sensei's tracker dog. _

_I wish you and Shisui and Genma were here. I doubt there are cookies at the borders. We can force Sasuke to make cookies for you once you come back._

_Take care of yourself and our silly teammates. _

_Sakura_

* * *

><p><em>Sakura,<em>

_I appreciate your letters. Hearing from you is an escape from the mundane yet perilous lifestyle of being stationed at the borders._

_Last time I checked, you failed my psyche exam. You are lucky that I did not report your actions._

_Threatening people is a weird way of showing affection. I am sure if a person wants to express their fondness for another, the normal thing to do is take them out on the date. But I guess the shinobi lifestyle is different. Next time I want to show my affection, I will surely threaten them. Thank you for your advice._

_It has been a long time since Konoha suffered a rather harsh winter. Konoha's harshest winters, however, cannot compare to Yukigakure though. I second your notion for not receiving another mission in Yukigakure. I do not want to visit that village when it is winter there._

_How unfortunate for you not being able to wear those unpractical skirts of yours. I am sure your legs would beg to differ._

_No one really knows how Sasuke knows how to make cookies from scratch – this particular skill set of his is one of Konoha's most puzzling conundrums. I know Okaasan did not teach him how too. He made cookies once a few months, when our parents were away for the weekend. They did taste rather good. If his shinobi career does not work out, he can join you and Naruto to open up bakery._

_Make sure you keep an eye on them._

_I do not do anything to my hair, but thank you for your compliment. I have been using the same shampoo for years now. I did not know it was an object of obsession of yours. I am flattered though, that you think my hair is perfect._

_I cannot say that I am a perfect however. I have never danced before Genma's party and you are the only person other than Sasuke who I have cooked for. Consider yourself lucky to have witnessed some of my 'perfect' attributes._

_I do have many flaws, contrary to popular belief. I've been told that I do not have appropriate responses to angry medics and do not take care of myself. Another one of my flaws is apologizing when I do not know what I am apologizing for. I am sure you will agree to these shortcomings of mine._

_I am glad that you are keeping yourself busy with team seven and other ANBU teams. I understand your uneasiness of accompanying other teams. You would not have this problem if you permanently join team eleven. But I understand your point of view. Your skills are far too useful for you to be pinned to just one team. Your exceptional medical expertise is strongest in the hospital and that benefits the village the most._

_New year at the border was not anything extravagant. I do wish I were watching the fire work display at the garden on the mountains with you like last time. We shinobi, however, do not always have that kind of luxury._

_On a brighter note, I'm glad that you have a marriage proposal waiting for you. You are at a decent age to get married. I would go get the massage if I were you._

_Genma and Shisui are fine and well behaved, for the most part. I did not need to spank them, yet._

_Be Safe. _

_Itachi_

* * *

><p>Sakura tried not to squeal like a schoolgirl after reading Itachi's letter but a relieved sigh escaped her lips as she leaned against her door to her home.<p>

Four months.

It was four months since team eleven departed for the borders. Sakura did not realize how much time she spent with team eleven until they were sent to the borders for a third of a year. She would never admit it out loud, or when Sasuke and Naruto were around, but she completely missed her other teammates.

After asking Tsunade a few too many times for any updates of team eleven, her shishou snorted and told the pinkette to find out for herself. It was only three weeks since they left but it was eating Sakura out. She had only looked at her shishou confused. How was she supposed to find out? It was not like she could simply leave Konoha and travel to the borders to find out for herself. Sakura did not know why she was so worried. Itachi, Shisui, and Genma were fine shinobi who could take care of themselves at the borders.

There was no way she could contact them. She would just have to wait a little over four months for them to return. Sakura just sighed and continued her daily activities. She picked up a few extra lessons to teach at the Medical School and logged more unreasonable hours at the hospital. Sasuke and Naruto were happy that Sakura was all theirs for the period that team eleven was away at the borders. Sakura did not attempt to scold her unreasonable boys. She guilty did enjoy spending more time with them.

Team seven was at Ichiraku when Sasuke mentioned that it had been a little over two weeks since Itachi responded to his letter. Sakura assured him that Itachi was probably busy patrolling but she was internally panicking. What if something happened to him? What if he was injured? She was not there to heal him. Sakura was so overfilled with concern and anxiety that she excused herself from Ichiraku, much to Naruto's chagrin. Her stomach did not feel so great.

A part of her knew that she was just overreacting to Sasuke's statement. Itachi was fine. He was busy. But she could not convince herself. Half of her was concerned for his safety while the other half was angry with herself for being so concerned in the first place. Leave it to the Uchiha for making her emotions go haywire. He was not even in Konoha and he still made her emotions run wild. She was falling for him harder while he was out of the village. Tsunade would lecture her for hours if her shishou got a hold of her feelings.

Then it hit her. She should just write Itachi a letter. Sakura could think of a hundred reasons why she should not send a letter to him, but she concluded that she would sleep better at night knowing that she tried to communicate with him. It took Sakura days to build up the courage to think about writing a letter to Itachi. It took her more days to actually write the letter. And it took her more time to actually send it. She never wrote a letter to Itachi before. But then again, she never was this concerned for him either.

Her letter was short and sweet and completely professional. Sakura did not know if Itachi was going to respond. Probably not. He was busy for sure. He did not have time to write letters to her to save her sanity. Itachi was patrolling. His sole focus had to be for the mission. Sakura tried to think of the disappointment that would string through her if he did not respond.

But when his letter did reach her, Sakura felt a huge wave of relief run through her. Sakura took in his impeccably neat handwriting before reading the letter. She imagined his voice as she read it once, twice, and a final time. Sakura could see his brows scrunched together when he described him patrolling from different camps and his superior smirk when he told her to take care of her foolish teammates. Sakura read the sincerity of his apology to her cooking skills and the humor of his teasing to her threatening her superiors. It almost felt like he was in Konoha with her. Sakura could not help the quick beating of her heart and the warmth that pooled in her stomach.

It was getting colder in Konoha. Just a few days after she received Itachi's letter, it snowed for three days straight in the village. It was freezing. The lush greenness of Konoha was covered in white. It definitely was not skirt weather anymore. Sakura spent the entire day with team seven playing in the snow like they were genin again. Snowball fights with Naruto were not fun. He made clones and suddenly the three way snowball fight turned into a battle. Sasuke overreacted and unleashed a fireball at several Naruto clones, almost burning Sakura in the way. The battle was over the second Sakura threw her infamous punch to the ground almost sucking Naruto and Sasuke in.

Sakura went on a mission under Neji's ANBU team. Neji was a member of team eleven for a year before he got promoted to captain. It was his spot in team eleven that Sakura was currently filling in for. Neji was a lot like Itachi – collected, perceptive, and extremely talented. Tenten also served under him, as they made quite a pair on and off the field. Although Sakura enjoyed accompanying her fellow friends on missions, she could not help but prefer being part of team eleven instead.

Team seven had dinner several times at Sasuke's. With Itachi at the borders, Mikoto showered extra adoration towards Sakura and Naruto. It was clear. Mikoto was worried sick for Itachi. Sakura always saw the faint stress lines on Mikoto's forehead whenever Itachi would leave for a mission. It was a mother's duty to worry about her children.

Sakura stayed awake for that whole night wondering. When she had her own kids, and if they chose the shinobi lifestyle, she would definitely be unable to sleep at night while they were on missions. Then she began wondering about how many kids she would have and with who. She suddenly imagined little Uchiha babies with pink hair. The pinkette giggled at the thought. If she were to have little Uchiha babies, they would most definitely have dark hair. Sakura almost choked when she realized what she was thinking. She threw a pillow over her head in embarrassment. There was no way she and Itachi were having babies together. They would have to first have sex to produce offspring.

The thought of making love with the Uchiha heir affected Sakura's concentration for days. Itachi had her stuttering and stumbling all over. She was sure Tsunade was enjoying the pathetic show she was putting on as Shizune only looked on worriedly. But the medic could not shake the thought out of her head.

What type of lover was Itachi? He was gentle person. Itachi would make love slowly and gently. But he was a shinobi. There was no doubt he had a rough and hot side to him. The permanent blush set on Sakura's cheeks only faltered when the thought of his experience. He was twenty-five years old. He must have had sex before. But Itachi did not seem the type to casually sleep with women, yet he did not seem the type to still be a virgin. Sakura effectively shut down any thoughts relating to Itachi's questionable virginity.

She was a virgin. It was odd for a shinobi of twenty to still remain a virgin but Sakura could not sleep with some person she did not feel some connection to. She was rarely sent on seduction missions – as Sakura suspected her shishou played a role in that. She never gave a second thought about her virginity until now.

Her continuous thoughts about Itachi, both pure and not so pure thoughts, only made her miss him more. Her silly little irritation with him before left no traces in her memories. Instead of joining rookie nine to watch the annual New Year's firework display, Sakura watched the show from the little garden on the hokage mountain.

Sakura continued writing him letters. If she were at the borders, she would expect a letter from everybody she knew. She knew how things worked at the borders. The pinkette was never stationed there but she did spend a week there a year ago as a medic. It was not a fun place to be at. She knew that Itachi would never complain about being stationed there but she knew that he did not prefer being sent there. No shinobi did. She only imaged her letters were the only form of color that he saw.

It was definitely relieving reading his words in the letter he sent back. Sakura sighed and continued to lean against her door. She smiled softly. Sakura liked to think she was starting to become a person that Itachi could rely on and start putting more trust in. Sakura knew that he was a distant person. He had barely any friends, and could care less about it. He kept himself emotionally and physically isolated. She wanted to be his support. She wanted him to trust her. She wanted him to know that she was always going to be his friend, ignoring her dirty thoughts about him that lingered in her head.

He teased her in his letter. That was surely a good sign. For years that Sakura knew the Uchiha, he always held himself composed and distant. But he was opening up to her and Sakura felt a high that she never felt before. She wanted Itachi to be open, with her at least. She wanted Itachi to feel the butterflies she felt when he was around her.

She liked Itachi. She really liked Itachi. She really, really liked Itachi. There was no denying it. She fell for the tall, dark, mysterious Uchiha and she was in deep. Sakura sighed as she put on her boots and gloves. She needed to let this out before she bursted into a million pieces.

Sakura stepped out of her house as the cold wind hit her face. Her feet automatically took her to her destination as her head continued to ponder about her feelings. She was so deep in her thoughts that Sakura did not realize when she stepped inside the Yamanaka Flower Shop and stood in front of the counter.

Ino stared at her rose haired best friend standing in front of her. The Yamanaka raised her eyebrow questioningly but Sakura did not notice. The pinkette was so caught up her thoughts. The forehead was probably over-thinking about something again. "Cough, cough," Ino cleared her voice but Sakura did not move. "Cough! Cough! Cough! Forehead are you listening to me choke!"

That seemed to finally break Sakura from her thoughts as she looked up. "What?" Sakura asked confused as Ino sighed overdramatically.

"Forehead, I was choking and you just stood there," Ino rubbed her temples histrionically and leaned onto her elbows that were on the counter, "What illness brings you to me today?"

"I like Itachi," Sakura blurted as Ino nearly fell over. The blonde's jaw nearly dropped to ground.

Ino observed Sakura thoroughly, trying to find any signs of humor or deceit. Ino could not find any. Sakura was completely serious. The two friends stared at each for a few moments before Ino took off her apron and bid farewell to her Okaasan. She grabbed Sakura's hand and pulled out the flower shop. "We're going to talk about this," Ino muttered.

Sakura let Ino pull her into a nearby coffee shop. The two sat down at a booth by the window. Ino order hot chocolate for the two as she quietly stared at Sakura, trying to conceal her inner glee. Her plan worked. Of course, she would have to thank her accomplice, they helped too, but the results were breathtaking. Ino internally hung another gold medal in her head. She was going to open up a matchmaking shop. The waitress brought their hot cocoa. "Talk," Ino instructed as she took a sip of her warm drink.

Sakura sighed and shrugged. "I don't know, pig," Sakura said slowly. "I don't know how or when but I like him."

"Just like?" Ino smirked, moving her brows up and down suggestively.

"I don't know," Sakura exasperated, throwing a glare at the Yamanaka.

Ino leaned back as she continued to observe Sakura. The pinkette was finally coming to her senses regarding her feelings for the Uchiha. "Well, if you want my advice," Ino threw her hands up defensively as Sakura narrowed her eyes. "I say you should act on those feelings. They're not going to go away because you decided to hold them in."

Sakura opened her mouth to respond but Ino hushed her with a finger to the pinkette's mouth. "Listen Sakura. I know you. When you say '_I don't know'_, I know you know. You just don't know what do about those feelings," Ino paused as she let Sakura take in what she said. "The thing is forehead, those feelings are there for a reason. I'm not telling you to jump on Itachi the next time you see him. I'm telling you that there is a very good reason for your strong feelings for him. Don't back away because you're confused."

"I'm not confused," Sakura softly stated. A part of her scoffed. She was a little confused but confusion was not why she was sitting in front of Ino. "I just don't know what to do. Do I tell him? Do I not? I mean, I don't know if he even feels the same way. I doubt he even does."

Ino wanted to tell Sakura that she knew that Itachi definitely felt the same way but Sakura would only question Ino how she knew that and that would lead her to spilling her part in the whole matter. Sakura would definitely not be pleased to find out that she was lurking in the shadows of Sakura and Itachi's relationship. "Please, I'm sure that he feels the same way. I don't know the dynamics between you two, but I have watched you two interact and he definitely has feelings for you."

Sakura looked up questioningly at Ino. "You watched us interact before?"

Ino held her smile in place. She would have to be careful of what she revealed to Sakura. "Of course I have! Remember Genma's party?"

A blush covered Sakura's cheeks as sunk into the seat embarrassed. "Oh no," Sakura mumbled, "Please tell me no one else noticed."

"Relax forehead, no one else noticed you and Itachi dirty dancing, at least I think no one else noticed. I mean, whoa! Who knew that Itachi knew how to dance like that? I would've never imagined," Ino winked. "You're one lucky girl Sakura, you don't know what I would do to get Shika to dance like that with me. Look at it like this forehead. I'm sure Itachi doesn't dirty dance with every girl he can. If he was completely repulsed by you, why would he dance like that?"

A vein throbbed on Sakura's forehead "He isn't repulsed by me!" Sakura countered.

"See exactly! He clearly has feelings for you if you both basically had sex with clothes on. He's an Uchiha and you're stubborn as a mule. You're going to get nowhere in this relationship of yours if you don't make the first move," Ino explained.

Sakura sunk lower in her seat. What was the pig talking about? She did not have sex with clothes on with Itachi. They merely enjoyed each other's company with dance motions. Her inner scoffed at her explanation. Sakura groaned as she picked herself up and tried to hide her face behind her cup of hot cocoa from Ino's peering glaze.

The Yamanaka did have a point though. Sakura sighed. Ino was the queen when it came to relationships. The blonde knew her too well. Ino was right. She was stubborn as a mule and Itachi was an Uchiha. They were doomed if they left it at that. She would have to make the first move. There was no way Itachi would pour out his feelings first. He was an Uchiha – emotionally constipated. There were so many reasons why she felt so strongly towards Itachi. Now all she had to do was bring her feelings to reality.

"Ughhh," Sakura groaned, "Naruto and Sasuke are going to shit bricks."

"Tch, who cares about Naruto and Sasuke. I don't see you complaining about who they date. I swear, if Naruto and Hinata were not awkwardly seeing each other, I'd be convinced that Naruto and Sasuke were dating each other," Ino responded with a giggle.

Sasuke and Naruto would make a wonderful pair, Sakura thought with a giggle. They would probably kill each other at the end of the day but they definitely did act like a married couple with all their bickering. Sakura took another sip of her hot cocoa, feeling ten pounds lighter with Ino's advice.

An ANBU popped in front the two kunoichi's booth. "Haruno Sakura, you are needed at the hospital." The ANBU disappeared as quickly as they appeared.

Sakura sighed. It was never a good sigh when she was summoned to the hospital. She bid a quick farewell to Ino before heading to the hospital.

* * *

><p>Itachi could still feel her slender arms around him even weeks after. He could still feel her gentle, quick hug. He could still smell the lingering sweet scent of her shampoo. It was pathetic. He was pathetic. He was out at the borders, hunting down the Akatsuki and images of the pink haired medic overwhelmed his thoughts. He had to focus solely on the mission. But Sakura refused to leave his head. No matter how hard he tried to focus on the mission, she kept invading his thoughts.<p>

Shisui and Genma must have picked up on his extra-stiff behavior because they remained more cautious and less animated around him. Shisui did not even call him the girly nickname Itachi disliked. He knew that the two probably thought he was still sulking at Sakura's obvious exasperating behavior at Yakiniku Q. They were wrong. Her behavior at the dinner was not bothering him, anymore. Her presence within his head was the culprit behind his unusual behavior.

They had gotten a lead on the Akatsuki's whereabouts along the Land of Fire and Amegakure's borders. The team had swiftly made their way to the lead, hoping to find traces of the members. They had patrolled the area for a few weeks, with no signs of the dangerous organization. That was when he first received Sakura's letter.

He was surprised at first. Itachi did not think she would write him letters. She had not told him beforehand she would. But it was a pleasant surprise. Her familiar neat handwriting kept him a little saner and brought some homely comfort. The pinkette was inquiring about his lack of response to Sasuke's letters. It was obvious she was concerned for him and he rather liked that she was. If she were in his head, he might as well be in hers. She managed to threaten to fail his psyche exam again and he almost laughed at it. She was miles away but for the first time, Itachi felt that he had someone to go back to after the mission was over. It was a good feeling.

Shisui kept throwing curious glances at him but never asked him what had suddenly changed his dark aura. Itachi effectively ignored the looks his teammates were throwing at him. It was none of their business. Shisui chirped that Sakura must have been writing him letters for his mood to lighten again. Shisui did not know how right he was.

Itachi quickly wrote a letter back to the pinkette. He refused to admit how eager and anxious he was for her response. It was weeks since she responded. The weather along the border varied drastically – it was fiercely hot in one location while deathly cold at another. That was the beauty of the Fire Country – its contrasting weather.

Team eleven scouted for weeks. The holiday season passed, New Years passed while they continued to serve their village. Shisui had somehow came to posses a bottle of sake, and while Itachi did not frivolously drink on New Years night, Shisui and Genma had a rather celebratory night. Itachi would normally not allow such behavior in the middle of a mission, but he knew that they were not going to encounter any enemies that night, plus he knew Shisui and Genma would be back to shinobi mood tomorrow morning.

Their assigned mission was more than half way over and they had yet to encounter any members of the infamous organization. All they had were supposed rumors of Akatsuki locations. He knew the Sandaime would most likely extend the mission another few months if they did not engage with the Akatsuki within their assign five months. The hokage's last message to the Uchiha stated that he was sending two additional teams to start scouting the Fire Country's borders.

The Akatsuki was becoming more and more of a threat. He heard they recently captured the seven-tails from Takigakure a few weeks ago. Itachi knew that the Sandaime wanted to contain the Akatsuki from gaining any new power before the coming chunin exams hosted in Konoha in the summer. There was a very high probability that the Akatsuki would come for nine-tails during that event and the Sandaime had every intention to decrease the organization of at least three-four members.

Itachi had apparently gone back to his sulking as he heard Genma and Shisui whisper while they were patrolling. He was not sulking. He was focused. The threat of Akatsuki was becoming a little too real and Itachi had no intention of extending their five-month mission because they could not track down the Akatsuki.

He had received another letter from Sakura only a few days after Shisui's uncalled for comment. Her animated writing brought a little color to the stress of hunting down the Akatsuki. She was blabbing throughout the whole letter of various events in Konoha but he could only faintly smile at her prattle. He could see her sitting at her desk in her office at the hospital, writing the letter. He could see her scrunch her eyebrows in wonder and confusion at Sasuke's cookies and her mocking smirk at her jabbing at his '_perfection'_.

He responded to her letter rather quickly, knowing fully while that team eleven was going to be traveling to the borders of the River Country. It was going to be a five-day travel from where team eleven was stationed at the moment. He would not have time to write Sakura another letter probably until the five months were over.

It was within the same day when Itachi sent Sakura the letter that team eleven came across the two-man team of Hidan and Kakuzu. Itachi did not know if he felt relief or anxiousness. All he knew that this was going to be a battle that he had to take seriously.

* * *

><p>When Sakura first walked onto the OR floor, her eyes automatically fell upon dark ones. It was only after the initial shock that Sakura noticed a deep, bleeding gash on Itachi's stomach. She opened her mouth and started making her way towards him but was instantly pulled by Shizune into an OR. Sakura did not have the time to question her mentor before her ivy eyes fell upon a barely recognizable Genma. Sakura quickly tied her hair into high ponytail and scrubbed in.<p>

The pinkette examined his grave injuries; five broken ribs, random stabs along chest and torso, broken wrist, popped right shoulder, long cut along neck, right leg most likely broken, extreme blood loss, damage to internal organs in the chest cavity, collapsed lungs, extreme chakra depletion. Sakura stopped listing his damages in her head and started pouring healing chakra into his body. She would have never guessed that the body before her was Genma if she did not sense the small amount of chakra inside of him.

She started mending his internal injuries as Shizune started healing from the outside. Their first concern was his collapsed lungs. Then they would have to focus on fixing his organs before they healed his bones. Just by a quick scan, Sakura instinctively knew that Genma was going to have a long, painful recovery ahead of him.

The pinkette wanted to shake him awake and give him an earful about being careful on missions but she was in complete medic mode. She wanted to let her shoulders down and act like a concerned teammate but now was not the time. She was not his teammate at the moment. She was his medic and her duty was to heal him.

She lost track of the time around her but when Tsunade came and gently peeled her away from Genma, did Sakura realize that she was on the verge of chakra depletion. She wanted to stay by his side and continue to heal her teammate but she knew that she would be a burden if she fell down unconscious from chakra exhaustion.

"You did good," Tsunade whispered in her ear as the Senju made her way towards the unconscious body. Sakura nodded and started walking out of the OR. She wondered why Tsunade did not remove Shizune from the OR. Shizune was almost out of chakra too. Sakura knew that Genma and Shizune had a weird relationship.

Tsunade had found out that her first apprentice slept with the Shiranui a few years ago and never ceased to drop small innuendos around Shizune about Genma. Sakura was surprised when she first heard about their involvement. Although the two were seeing each in the past, Shizune had promised that she was no longer seeing the ANBU operative. Sakura sighed as she washed her hands. The two may no longer be seeing each other but it was clear Shizune still held strong feelings towards him.

Sakura quickly left the hospital, noting that it was dark outside. She finally let her shoulders drop as she stepped inside her home. Her legs dragged her to the bathroom as she let her bathtub fill with water. She stripped herself of her clothing and laid inside the warm water. A relieved sighed escaped her lips as her shoulders slowly relaxed.

Genma was going to be fine. She chanted his wellbeing in her head like a mantra. He was going to be fine. Sakura felt her eyes closing slightly. Again she lost track of time. Knowing that it was stupid to fall asleep in her tub, Sakura groaned as she lifted her tired body from her tub and grabbed a towel to dry herself. Sakura put on a long sleeved flannel shirt and shorts as she walked outside her bathroom.

She found herself in a familiar situation as she saw Itachi leaning against her wall. He looked up to her but his face was pensive as ever. Sakura almost twitched when she observed the look on his face. His normally inscrutable countenance expressed unnatural emotions ranging from ire to guilt. But all those emotions were blocked by his heavily fatigued and drained posture. Ivy eyes automatically scanned his body for any injuries but none were visible. Tsunade must have healed him before she came to heal Genma.

For months Sakura told herself that she was being overly concerned for the safety of team eleven. She tried to convince herself that her three teammates were going to be fine, that no serious harm was going to come their way. How wrong was she. Her concern was perfectly justified, as Genma was hanging by a thread, Itachi looked completely worn-out – mentally and physically, and god knows where Shisui was at the moment or if he was still alive. Sakura mentally slapped herself. There was no way Shisui was dead.

Sakura took a step forward towards him and opened her mouth but only a small yelp came out as Itachi suddenly appeared in front of her. "Are you injured?" Sakura asked quietly. Itachi shook his slightly but still did not say anything. Sakura wanted to scoff. Sure, he was not physically injured – except for chakra depletion – but he was definitely not ok. Sakura closed her eyes and let her forehead drop against Itachi's chest. She tried to calm her inner turmoil but failed with no avail.

It was the Akatsuki. Sakura knew it. There was no shinobi strong and powerful enough to seriously harm team eleven other than the Akatsuki. They must have run into the dangerous organization while they were patrolling the borders. Sakura felt a sour taste in her mouth at the thought. Team eleven had battled against Akatsuki members. Itachi fought the Akatsuki. The ugly gash on Itachi's stomach flashed through Sakura's mind as she tried to bring her head up to face Itachi but she suddenly felt herself being lifted.

Sakura wanted to open her eyes but her entire body protested. Her eyes refused to open and her body snuggled into the warm body that was carrying her somewhere. She felt herself being gently placed onto something soft but she refused to latch off of her heat source. After what felt like hours, Sakura felt a body dip beside her and bring her heavy covers over her body. She nestled into that warmth that seemed to be holding her.

Itachi was formidable. Itachi was human. Itachi could die.

She could have lost him.

With those final thoughts, Sakura fell into a deep slumber. She did not know how long she was sleeping but when her eyes opened again, she still felt exhausted maybe even more so than before. Her eyes drifted to the body beside her. Sakura tried not to move but her small shifting woke up the Uchiha next to her.

Dark eyes bore into hers. For a moment Sakura did not know what to say. She yawned while asked, "How long was I sleeping?"

It could not be that long. Her muscles still ached and her eyes felt unnaturally heavy. Her chakra was not even half way refurbished. Itachi blinked a few times before responding, "Three hours."

Sakura tried not to groan as she snuggled back to his side. She felt an arm slowly wrap around her waist. She tried not to over think the situation but her mind made gladly up for her physical exhaustion. Itachi was in bed with her. They were in her bed together. She remembered drowsing off when she rested her head against his chest and refusing to detach herself from him when he brought her to her bed. She never expected Itachi to stay though. She assumed he would leave whenever he could remove her limbs from his.

He stayed. The thought sent warm butterflies down her stomach.

"I feel sick," Sakura mumbled.

She felt dark eyes shift to glance at her but Sakura made no attempts to move. "Did you eat?" Itachi quietly asked.

Sakura shook her head. "I'm not hungry."

Though she was not looking at him, Sakura clearly felt his disapproving glare. Sakura was about to retort to that annoying look but he disappeared from her bed. She stared at the empty spot beside her confused. Maybe he was going to make her food. She would definitely not stop him if he were going to make her his delicious onigiri balls.

Itachi appeared a few moments later, with a glass filled with what Sakura observed to be some herbal tea she stocked in the fridge. Sakura sat up and reached for the glass but Itachi did not remove his hands from the glass. "You need nourishment," Itachi quietly instructed. He brought the glass to her lips and slowly titled it, as Sakura slowly drank the contents.

Although tired, her thoughts were spinning, trying to organize everything that happened within the last few hours. Team eleven had come back to Konoha from their patrolling with a deathly injured Genma. Itachi had been once again waiting in her room at nighttime and he stayed when she refused to let go of him. A small blush covered her cheeks as Sakura pushed away the glass and turned her head slightly away from Itachi glance, although he did have a clear view of her face.

Itachi looked down at the pinkette. The room was completely dark, but he caught a glimpse of Sakura's slightly flushed face. She was clearly uncomfortable with his presence so close. He felt the same, but it was not a bad kind of uncomfortable. He never slept beside the opposite gender before; it was only uncomfortable because it was unfamiliar territory.

The Uchiha honestly did not know why he showed up at Sakura's home. Team eleven had encountered Hidan and Kakuzu on their way to the River Country's borders. Itachi was half-glad that they ran into the Akatsuki. It meant that their mission was halfway completed. All team eleven had to do was defeat the two members of the notorious organization. Hidan and Kakuzu were the two members of the Akatsuki that Konoha had little to no information on. They knew more details on the organization's leader than this two-man team. The lack of information doubled the riskiness of the battle. The ANBU team would have to be entirely focused.

Itachi knew he was a strong and gifted shinobi. He had many unique talents that could not be copied by other nin. It seemed like the silver haired missing-nin from Yugakure also had rare abilities. Hidan claimed immortality to which Itachi scoffed at. He was a good opponent, as Genma was caught in his curse. Itachi observed that once the Jashin follower collected his opponent's blood, Hidan and his victim became linked as Hidan used his body as voo-doo doll to inflict pain to his victim.

The team was caught off guard as Genma received the same inflictions as Hidan administrated to himself. Shisui told Itachi to go take down Kakuzu. While Itachi battled the money-hungry nin, information Itachi collected from the two missing-nin's annoying banter, Shisui assisted Genma, who was completely powerless against Hidan.

Although Kakuzu was an excellent opponent, Itachi defeated him after what seemed like he killed the Akatsuki member a hundred times. Shisui had figured out a way to counterattack Hidan's curse and used it as Hidan's downfall. Itachi sealed both the missing-nin's bodies into a scroll to take back to Konoha. When the Uchiha laid eyes on Genma, he could barely recognize his fellow teammate. Shisui had a few cuts and bruises and Itachi only suffered a gash to his stomach. Genma, on the other hand, looked horrible.

This was the only time while they were out of Konoha that Itachi genuinely wished Sakura were with them. She would easily be able to heal Genma. Genma was in dire need of medical assistance that neither Itachi nor Shisui could deliver. They could find a medic in nearby towns but that would be risky. They could travel to Konoha but it was a little under a day's worth of travel. Itachi concluded that if they traveled at high speed without any break, they could reach Konoha within half a day.

Shisui and Itachi traveled nonstop until they reached Konoha and first dropped Genma at the hospital. Itachi wanted to report to the hokage but Tsunade literally hauled him into a room to heal the gash on his stomach. His jaw clenched when he caught a quick glimpse of confusion, worry, and relief displayed on Sakura's face as she stared at his stomach. The pinkette was quickly pulled into Genma's OR room and he was pulled by Tsunade into another room.

Itachi tried to remain calm but he knew his shoulder would remain tense until he got a confirmation that Genma was going to survive. Despite Tsunade's threats, Itachi made his way to the hokage's office after he was healed. He informed the hokage of the events that played out. Although the Sandaime did not audibly commend Itachi on their successful mission, Itachi could clearly see the relief on the Sandaime's face when the hokage found out that two Akatsuki members were eliminated. The hokage ordered Itachi to go get rest.

Itachi made his way to his apartment out of the Uchiha compound. He was too stressed to go back to the compound. He did not realize how much his muscles ached and the small bruises that were starting to blemish his skin. Itachi dipped inside his shower and than ate a granola bar. He tried to sleep for hours but he could not lose consciousness.

The Uchiha heir did not know what compelled him to leave his apartment but after jumping on rooftops, he found himself outside of Sakura's house. He internally argued with himself if he should enter her home or just make his way back to his apartment. It was nearly midnight, she was probably sleeping as he felt her presence behind her walls. When he entered her bedroom through her patio window, Itachi nearly laughed when he realized she was in the bathroom taking a shower. It was déjà vu.

He waited for Sakura to come out and sighed when she came out fully clothed. She looked exhausted, as she probably just came back from the hospital. Although she was clearly disturbed and distressed, he knew that she had healed Genma and Genma was going to be all right. His shoulders slightly relaxed at the conclusion.

She was running her eyes over his body, obviously scanning for any injuries. When he saw her stance slightly waver he quickly made his way over to her. She asked him if he was injured, and sighed in relief and relaxed her forehead on his chest at his response. Sakura was instantly asleep seconds later. Itachi wanted to glare at the medic's carelessness with her health but instead picked her up and brought her to her bed. She had a rather strong grip on his shirt and refused to let go.

He could have easily removed her from his body and left but dipped onto the bed next to her. When Sakura felt him lay next to her she instantly curled to his side and buried her face in his chest. The smell of flowers and cream overfilled his nostrils. What he should have done was leave. What he did was wrap an arm around Sakura's waist and bring her closer. He felt comfort and serenity. He fell asleep right away, the fastest in a really long time.

When Itachi felt Sakura shifting, his eyes automatically opened as he stared at the pinkette. Her skin was paler than before and dark circles blemished the skin under her eyes. She looked sick. Knowing Sakura and sensing the very weak chakra within her, she probably lacked food in her stomach. He threw a glare and after she confirmed the emptiness in her stomach, he instantly went to her kitchen and grabbed herbal tea she always had in her fridge. She needed nutrients or she would only feel sicker.

He brought her tea upstairs and helped her drink the herbal tea, not trusting her weakened form to properly consume the nutritious drink or her stubborn attitude to deny it. He placed the half-drank glass on her side table and started inching away from the bed towards her glass doors linking to the patio. He felt a small tug on his shirt as he peeked over his shoulder to wide ivy eyes. "You can stay," Sakura whispered. _I want you to stay._ That was the very apparent hidden meaning behind her words.

She did not want to be alone. He could clearly see the pleading in her eyes. She was shaken from the events that happened. She was just as distressed as him. There was no reason for her to experience all the torment her face expressed as she was inside the safety of Konoha walls the entire time. It was him that should be feeling anguish. But she felt it too. She felt the anguish of almost losing a teammate. Genma was important to her too. Itachi's eyes softened.

He had hours to agonize over Genma's injures. Sakura had none. She was a medic. She was Genma's doctor and her sole focusing was to heal his wounds, not worry and fright over his injuries like a concerned teammate. Sakura had her emotions bottled up which were now pouring out from her tightly concealed heart.

He sat down on the corner of the bed and looked at Sakura. She was laying on her side, facing him with her big, expressive eyes. Her rose hair fanned out on her pillow that only beautified her already attractive features. She was looking up at him curiously. She obviously thought he was going to leave. Itachi thought he was going to leave. At least he surprised both of them with his actions. He threw his legs onto the bed and leaned down on his side, facing Sakura.

She was utterly beautiful under the moonlight that escaped through the windows. Sakura's skin looked smooth and creamy. Her hair contrasted with her white pillow and her ivy eyes glowed of emotion. Her full lips were slightly open as he could peek at her white teeth. She was completely faultless – physically and mentally.

"You look terrible," Sakura mumbled with a half smile. She was suffering from chakra exhaustion and joking about his appearance. How contradictory of her. A giggled escaped her lips at his '_hn'_. "You know – '_hn'_ – has no proper meaning, although I'm convinced it's the official Uchiha phrase."

"The Uchiha have no official phrase."

A sweet melodic laugh filled Itachi's ears as he softened his gaze towards her. Her eyebrows rose challengingly and mischievously. "You know, if I didn't have to work a day for everytime I heard an Uchiha '_hn_', I could have retire from practicing medicine three years ago."

"That would mean you could no longer fail psyche exams," Itachi challenged back with a smirk. Her slightly offended look brought a small victory.

Sakura rolled over so her back was against her mattress. Their eye contact was broken as the corners of Itachi's eyes creased at her pout and crossed arms. "I don't need to practice medicine to fail psyche exams," she retorted through her pout, "And you know what, I think it's time for you to go for another psyche exam. Your battle must've injured your cognitive abilities."

A small laugh escaped Itachi's lips. Sakura '_hmph-ed'_ at Itachi amusement. She made no movements to face him. Itachi observed Sakura from his angle. Her adorable pout was still present on her lips and her eyes closed. Her form was still, as if thinking that any physical movements from her would bring him strange pleasure.

Sakura did not remain still for long. Her eyes quickly opened as she sat up and faced him. Her big, wild eyes looked at him in shock and curiousness. "Your stomach," she said. Itachi raised an eyebrow. Was that a question or a statement? "The gash," Sakura described, "That horrible gash must've left a scar."

How random. Of all the things that could be running through the pinkette's head, she was thinking of his injury. He nodded. It did leave a scar. "Can I see it?" Sakura asked tentatively.

Itachi slowly lifted his shirt, exposing the still fresh scar that adorned his abs. He gazed at Sakura, whose full attention was on his new scar. Her hand reflexively glowed green as she brought it to his scar. His stomach instantly felt a soothing coolness. The pinkness of the scar slowly abated but the scar remained still intact on his abs.

Sakura broke out in a wide grin. She was grinning at his scar – a scar he received from a dangerous battle against the Akatsuki. What a bizarre kunoichi. With almost uncanny speed, Sakura lifted her shirt slightly above her belly button, exposing her toned, flat stomach. She pointed at a discolored lesion on her midriff with a dainty finger. "Look, we have matching scars on our stomach from Akatsuki battles," Sakura said with a bright smile on her face.

Itachi paused at her statement. She knew he battled the Akatsuki. Tsunade probably informed her during healing Genma or she put two and two together. She was a smart kunoichi. Sakura probably did not know that their mission of patrolling the borders was a cover-up for hunting and bringing down the Akatsuki.

Her mood completely contrasted to Itachi's mood. When he saw the scar, he saw the pain and blood that was associated with it. He was not one of the nins who proudly displayed their scars as prizes from battles. Itachi came to peace with that fact that in his life as a shinobi, he would be marred with scars, but was not fond of proudly displaying them like gold. These scars represented battles, wars, hate, and death. He felt uncomfortable with all those representations.

Itachi grazed his fingers on her scar. He felt Sakura shiver at his touch. His cold fingers contrasted with her warm stomach. He almost wanted to pull his hands away from Sakura's skin, fearing that his coldness would transfer to Sakura. The scar did not suit Sakura. Sakura was a healer, she should not be blemished with scars.

He heard about Sakura's battle again Sasori, a missing-nin puppeteer from Suna who joined the Akatsuki. She was fifteen, he believed, when she defeated Sasori. Itachi remembered the Sandaime mentioning it quickly. To say Itachi was surprised would be a slight understatement. After Sasuke defected with Orochimaru, Itachi had little to no interest on keeping tabs on his Otouto's teammates. He knew Naruto left to train with Jiraiya and Sakura had become Tsunade's apprentice, but other than little details that he heard his teammates or clansmen murmur, Itachi knew little to nothing of the skill sets of Sasuke's former teammates.

The last time Itachi saw Sakura before hearing her victory over the Akatsuki member, she was still the weak and dependent member of team seven who had a desperate crush on Sasuke. Itachi rarely spoke to the pinkette back then and could not understand why a girl from a civilian family wanted to be a shinobi. She had good chakra control and was good with genjutsu, but made a rather bad kunoichi. He predicted that she would not continue the shinobi path after the chunin exams and Sasuke's defection. But she surprised him when she chose to continue being a kunoichi. After Itachi first learned of her apprenticeship as a medical-nin under Tsunade, it was years until he saw her again.

He often wondered how a little pink-haired healer could defeat an Akatsuki member back then. Curiosity got the better of him and he went to observe her train. She definitely was not the weak and dependent teammate. She was strong and extremely talented and had so much potential to become one of the best kunoichi in the village. Just from his observations, he understood how she was able to defeat an Akatsuki member. From that day, Itachi promised to never doubt the pinkette ever again.

"Stop brooding," Sakura teased as she laid on her side again, facing Itachi. "It's just a scar. It doesn't hurt anymore," Sakura stated with a huff. Brooding? He was not brooding. Sure, he did not appreciate the scar on her body but he was admiring her skill sets. "Guess it's about time," Sakura said with a grin as she pulled the covers to her chin. "You finally defeated an Akatsuki member. About time you caught up to me."

Itachi nearly scoffed. "I am above you."

"Cocky and arrogant, the rumors are true about you," Sakura countered, not edging away from his challenge.

"Rumors?"

Sakura sighed, almost rolling her eyes. "Yes, the thousands of rumors about you."

Itachi returned her confident look, and lowly asked, "Tell me Sakura, what do the thousands of rumors say about me?"

He watched her caught off guard for a moment before she rolled onto her stomach and leaned on her elbows. "Well, other then you eating small, innocent bunnies for dinner," Itachi smirked at her jab, "rumor has it that you have an obsession with long hair. That's why you keep your hair long and uncut." Sakura tapped her finger on her lip, bringing Itachi's attention back to those lips. "There's another rumor circulating throughout Konoha stating that you only go on mission outside of Konoha because you're meeting up with your man-lover."

Itachi could not help to not to conceal a mixture of disdain and offense written on his face. "I do have a man-lover outside of Konoha."

Sakura giggled tauntingly. "Whatever you say Itachi. You sure do have a lot of man-lovers inside Konoha. You'd be surprised how diversified your fan club is."

Itachi chose to ignore her jaunting smile and giggles at his scornful countenance. He closed his eyes and tried to ignore the teasing kunoichi beside him. He quite literally got into bed with a minx and he walked right into his defeat. He almost forgot how tired he was. The hokage wanted to meet him late afternoon tomorrow. Itachi was glad the Sandaime gave him time off.

Sakura laughed some more at his ignorance of her. She snuggled up to him, wrapping an arm around his waist. "Don't pout," Sakura softly advised. He was not pouting. He did not pout. The humor through her voice was overwhelming.

Itachi felt so warm. Sakura would have never concluded that she would be snuggling with Itachi. They were providing each other mutual comfort, Sakura concluded. She was so tired but she could not let the opportunity for teasing the Uchiha pass. An arm pulled her into his chest into almost a protective embrace.

"Sleep," Itachi lowly commanded. Sakura closed her eyes, instantly falling asleep. The last thing she remembered was Itachi's warm body pressed against hers and the slow beating of his heart.

* * *

><p><em>It's just you and I tonight,<em>

_Why don't you figure my heart out?_

-The 1975 "Heart Out"

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><p><strong>There we go, another chapter! I had half of this written before I moved into my dorm and while I was starting to unpack, this wonderful idea hit me and I had to take a mini-break to write it out. So, instead of unpacking like a good college student, I'm sitting on my bed (that hasn't even been covered yet) writing like a man-woman. I almost submitted this chapter without adding the lyrical quotes in.<strong>

**Hope you enjoyed all the ItaSaku moments. My originally plan for this chapter was it to be all in Sakura POV and Itachi still out hunting down the borders. I was so adamant about making you all suffer with no Itachi in this chapter… but I caved and had him return to Konoha. I have absolutely no self-control.**

**It was mid February in the storyline. I honestly do not know what the next chapter is going to be about but don't expect it anytime soon. College is about to start, I'm going to be trying to focus classes with an internship. I just want to warn everyone not to worry if the next chapter doesn't come out for a while.**

**A lot of you guys predicted Sakura was going to be joining hunter-nun while Itachi was away. It was a good guess, but Sakura will not be joining the hunter-nun... yet. SPOILER ALERT! Hint-hint-nudge-nudge. More will be explored in later chapters. I'm curious though, what do you guys think will happen? Let me know.**

**Thanks for reading, hope you lovely guys enjoyed the read. Thank you for all the sweet reviews, it fills my heart with joy.**

**Until next time**

**-im-rite-here**


	8. Chasers

Chapter Eight – Chasers

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><p><em>Not even I can find a way to stop the storm<em>

_Oh baby it's out of my control_

_What's going on?_

_You're just a chance I take to keep on dreaming_

_You're just another day that keeps me breathing_

-Kiesza "Hideaway"

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><p>Sakura fluttered her eyes open. She still felt the security of warmth wrapped around her. The scent of raindrop overfilled her nose as she traitorously snuggled her face against warm neck. An arm was latched onto her waist and she was snuggled into his side. She felt so warm and protected and did not want to move despite how suddenly awake she felt.<p>

She laid there with her eyes closed enjoying the warmth for a few minutes before the intimate position made a blush spread out on Sakura's cheeks. They shared beds on multiple missions before but they would strictly and awkwardly sleep on opposite sides of the bed. This was the first time they slept together while physically touching. And it felt good. It felt a little too good.

Itachi's chakra did not stutter or spike. His eyes were still shut. Normally on missions, his eyes would jump open and his senses would become hyperaware of his surroundings the second Sakura would wake. It was one of his many talents. But at the moment Itachi was comfortably sleeping. The mission must have taken a big toll on him and he must have pushed himself to stay conscious last night to get Genma to Konoha for medical attention. Sakura sighed. What a stubborn fool.

There was no sunlight coming in through the window, leaving Sakura confused of how long she slept. Judging from her fully replenished chakra and the lack of tiredness in her eyes, Sakura guessed it was late morning. Her stomach growled loudly as Sakura blushed embarrassingly as she peeked at Itachi, making sure the growls did not wake him. She needed food.

Sakura slowly tried to remove Itachi's grasp of her but failed. She then tried to slide down and out of his grasp but failed again. He was literally latching onto her. She threw her head back, groaning with slight annoyance at his strong grip. Itachi slightly moved his head and fluttered his eyes open at Sakura's movement. He stared blankly at Sakura for a few moments in silence before her stomach growled. Sakura smiled sheepishly as the blush returned.

"Haha, I was just trying to go get food," Sakura said with a smile while trying to laugh the awkwardness away. She was so hungry.

His arm around her waist did not move but after examining her face for what seemed like an eternity to the pinkette, Itachi's arm slowly loosened as Sakura inched away from him, putting some space between the two. She instantly missed the warmth. "How do you feel?" Sakura asked peering back into his dark eyes.

"Fine." His voice was rough and low. His morning voice sent a warm shock down her spine. Sakura took a quick moment to scan his body of any injuries, knowing that '_fine'_ was a standard answer Sakura received whenever she asked people of their wellbeing. Dark, painful bruises adorned Itachi's neck as Sakura instantly brought a healing hand to his neck.

What were with people, shinobi men specifically, not wanting to convey their injuries? It was like they were all masochists. There was nothing wrong with expressing that they were in pain and wanting to get healed. Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi, Shikamaru, and now Itachi were all men who rather walk with a broken leg from Suna to Konoha before asking a medic-nin to heal their legs. Boy logic was confusing. As Tsunade would always say – '_men are stupid'_.

"These look really painful," Sakura muttered as she let her chakra flow throughout Itachi's body, healing the bruises, "You should've mentioned last night you were in this much pain."

"I am not in pain."

Sakura scoffed at Itachi as she felt him slightly lean into her hand. The pinkette rolled her eyes at his audacity to tell her that he did not feel little pain at this bruises as he was practically drooling at her soothing chakra. Men. Uchiha men.

Itachi's eyes dropped to Sakura's stomach as her stomach growled again loudly. Sakura groaned and fell backwards into her bed as she covered her head with her pillow. "I'm so hungry," Sakura complained.

Itachi looked amused at the pinkette's grumbles. Instead of getting food, the medic decided to roll back into bed. "Go get food," Itachi suggested.

"I don't have food in my house," Sakura moaned through the pillow, "I'm going to starve to death." There was takeout leftover in her fridge, Itachi remembered from grabbing her tea last night. Itachi let out a small chuckle. She was not going to die. And even if she were to die, Sakura was too busy moaning and groaning through her pillow to prevent her from dying. Was she always this overdramatic? He did notice that she liked the side that ended with a bang but she hated flamboyant matters. She was a pink box of endless entertainment.

"You have takeout in the fridge," Itachi stated.

"Ughhhh…" A dark eyebrow arched questioningly. "I faintly remember you glaring at me to start eating healthier," Sakura rebuked.

Itachi stood up and looked down at the pinkette. "Get up."

"Whyyyy," Sakura groaned.

"We are getting healthy food."

The pillow covering Sakura's head was suddenly flung across the room as Sakura quickly sat up and stared wide-eyed at Itachi. "Are you asking me out on a date?"

Itachi opened his mouth to quickly deny her statement but no words came out. His words did suggest that they go out and eat food but they were partly empty. He did not expect Sakura to conclude that he was suggesting they go on a date. But her conclusion unexpectedly did not bother him. Sure, they could go out to grab food as a date.

His prolonged silence must have confirmed Sakura's conclusion as narrowed her eyes and threw her legs over the bed and childishly walked to her bathroom, muttering something along the lines of '_didn't even ask… he demanded… stupid Uchiha'_. Itachi stood there, a little confused. He did not demand.

Sakura appeared from the bathroom and kicked him out of her room as she changed. He thought it a little silly at first but Sakura claimed that it would have been rude of him to stand there while she changed out from her sleepwear. Itachi complied, knowing that he would only suffer from her wrath if he did not listen. He waited patiently in her living downstairs while she got ready.

Sakura leaned against her bedroom door for a second against kicking Itachi out of her room. This was all unreal. Last night she spent tangled in Itachi arms as this morning he quite literally demanded to go get food. His voice left no room for argument. This was going all to fast, but she knew Itachi never acted slowly. She did not know why she was surprised that Itachi would ask her on a date in such an Itachi-way. Then again, she never associated Itachi and anything romantic in the same thought.

Itachi was always the distant, cold captain that she would always hear stories of. He was a god-like figure to Sasuke, he was an epitome shinobi to fellow Konoha nin, he was a figure of infatuation to his admirers. After being exposed to those hypes about Itachi, it was _unusual_ seeing Itachi out of those scenarios and seeing him as himself. Sakura sighed and pushed herself away from her door. The word 'date' had her melting a little to fast for her comfort. She knew Itachi, she knew him for years, but she did not _know_ him.

Last night was… unexpected. Itachi had stayed. He stayed the whole night. She was confused when she first saw him but the look of pain and exhaustion on his face explained everything. He needed someone. He needed a shoulder and she was too happy to comply and provide relief even when she was exhausted herself. A warm bubble filled Sakura's stomach at the thought of Itachi trusting her enough to let his shoulders down and show her his tightly concealed emotions. Sakura woke up to him holding her. Other then team seven, she never had cuddled with the opposite gender before. She never really had a real boyfriend or was close enough with males to share a bed with them.

Trying not to over think the whole situation, Sakura threw on pants and a maroon sweater. A quick glance at the clock told her it was almost eleven in the morning and a fast peek out the window told her that it had started to snow again. Not wanting to keep Itachi waiting, Sakura swiftly made her way downstairs.

Sakura made her way into her living room, finding Itachi patiently sitting on her couch. He looked flawless – like always – despite waking up from a slumber only moments before. Sakura ignored his perfection and smiled upon him. "Lets go to Iro's," Sakura suggested. If they were going on a date, they should go somewhere both of them would feel comfortable at.

Itachi nodded. He refused to admit that his eyes lingered at her form-fitting pants. He had quickly teleported to his apartment before to grab a coat. Itachi followed Sakura out of her house after to put on her boots and a coat. They fell at a quiet pace, walking side by side. Itachi glanced at the pinkette walking beside him.

Her letters brought him color to the dull mission he was assigned, but being next to her, breathing in her fiery attitude and bright being made him completely blinded by her radiance. She was utterly beautiful. He did not know when he came to that conclusion but being with her filled an empty gap within him. Itachi just realized how much he craved for her. The four month long mission only added to the drought he felt when she was not around. As relieved he felt, anger slightly boiled inside him. Since when was he so dependent on the rose-haired medic? Never in his life did he feel such attraction and pull towards someone. Never in his life did his attraction overpower his self-restraint.

Out of the blue, Sakura let out a yelp. His Sharingan automatically activated as he watched Sakura slip on black ice in slow motion. She landed on the ground right on her back. He stood still as he saw her shock turn to pain. A pout formed on her pretty lips as she sat up. Her big, ivy eyes met his. A small laugh escaped Itachi throat at Sakura stared at him confused. He briefly saw a flash of anger in her eyes as she crossed her arms childishly and glared at him.

Itachi did not register a ball of white headed towards his head. A snowball hit him right in face. All amusement he felt a few seconds before disappeared as he let the quick slap of the shock dissipate. He narrowed his eyes dangerously at the gleaming pinkette who got up and stood proudly right across him.

"You know, you're really rude," Sakura said as she crossed her arms again, trying to look intimidating, "I slipped and nearly killed myself and all you do is laugh at me."

Itachi gathering chakra in his hands, as he quickly made a snowball, using his highly decorated speed. He flung a snowball at Sakura, who barely managed to duck in time. The snowball flew millimeters past her head. Her ivy eyes grew big in disbelief. She had the audacity to look appalled after she threw a snowball at his face first. Unlike before, Sakura did not gracefully make a snowball to throw at him. She gathered as much snow her hands could carry and threw it at Itachi who moved out of the way.

His smirk must of hit a sensitive spot in her as she threw one last glare at him and started walking away. Itachi smiled at her antics and quickly caught up with her, falling beside her once again. "You're annoying," Sakura said.

"And you are infuriating," he smoothly replied.

The annoyed look on Sakura's face quickly disappeared. "Do I aggravate you, Itachi?" Sakura teased, as her eyelids slightly dropped. She aggravated him more than he cared to admit. "Do I provoke you?" Sakura continued. She quickly stepped ahead of him and turned to face him, blocking his path. He looked down at her suggestive countenance. "Do I play with your patience?"

He knew she was merely teasing him, but he refused to let her win. She did aggravate him and provoke him ad played with his patience. And now she knew she had such an effect on him and started using it against him. The minx. She was using his – apparently quite obvious – weaknesses against him. He walked around her as started walking. Itachi heard her laugh from behind him and faintly smiled. Her laugh could bring down his carefully constructed walls any day.

"Aw, Itachi, don't pout. I was just kidding," Sakura said as she caught up to him and peeked up at him.

"Hn."

Another smile broke out on Sakura's face. He used that annoying locution again. He was fine, although, his pride must have been a little wounded. Sakura swore that Uchiha men were the most childish people around. They could not handle a joke at all without it dramatically affecting their dignity. She suddenly felt for Mikoto. How hard must it have been to raise both Itachi and Sasuke? There was no way Sakura would be able to do such thing.

Iro's Café came into view as the two made their way inside. The same brunette haired waitress that always seemed to serve them gave the couple a look before she brought her attention back towards the people ordering their food. Sakura walked towards the little booth by the window, the one that Itachi and her always sat at inside. She slipped into the booth as Itachi sat across from her.

Sakura looked hard at the Uchiha across from her. He was doing the same. "You know, I don't know much about you," Sakura stated.

It was true. She really did not know Itachi. She knew he was the Uchiha heir and kept himself distant from almost everything and one and could cook really well, but she did not _know_ him. She did not know what he preferred to cook, or if he liked to cook at all. She did not know his favorite color, movie, book, holiday, or animal. What were his life goals and future aspirations? If he could not be a shinobi, what would he be? Where would he vacation if he could travel anywhere? If he were invisible for a day, what would he do?

Sakura had a sudden urge to want to know things about him – the little, stupid things that no one really ever noticed but knew anyway. She wanted to know his preferences and likings, what he hated and loved, what he wanted and desired. Sakura wanted to know the Uchiha before her, not the shinobi but the man.

The pinkette stared at the dark-haired Uchiha who was questioningly raising his eyebrows at her. No one probably ever cared to sit down and get to know him. "Let's play a game, I'll ask you a question and you get to ask me a question," Sakura said.

Itachi leaned on his elbows that were plopped onto the table. "Any other rules?"

"Nope," Sakura beamed, a little surprised that Itachi, who was always so enclosed, agreed to play the game. She was not going to let this opportunity pass. "I go first." Sakura tapped her chin with a finger and bit her lip. What should she ask Itachi? There was so much she wanted to know about him, she did not know where to start. "Do you like being the Uchiha heir?"

Itachi tilted his head to the side, a little confused and startled that she would ask such a question. "You have to be honest," Sakura quickly replied, noticing his hesitancy.

"I did not agree to play such game," Itachi mused, as Sakura's eager face turned sour. He sighed. She was not going to back down; it was better if he went along with it. Sakura opened her mouth to convince him that the game was indeed a very good form of team bonding but Itachi cut her of. "No."

Sakura stared at him, as if he was going to say more. When she realized he was not going to elaborate she pouted. "Why not?"

"It's my turn now, Sakura," Itachi smirked, trying not to stare at her pouted lips for too long. Sakura leaned back into the booth. "Why did you choose to follow a shinobi lifestyle?"

He was aiming at a deep cord within her. It was only fair, as she was did the same to him. "I was bullied when I was younger. People used to make fun of my big forehead and weird hair color," Sakura paused as she peeked at Itachi, who was listening intently. His sincere countenance brought some comfort to Sakura, as talking about her childhood was never the easiest topic for her. "Ino stood up to those bullies and we became friends since then. I never really wanted to be a kunoichi back then. A lot of my friends did come from shinobi backgrounds, so I always surrounded by kids who had a definite shinobi path carved out for them. Originally, I actually wanted to be a baker like my Okaasan."

Sakura laughed as she recalled the memory. She would always wear her Okaasan's too-long apron around the house, pretending to be a baker. "My Otousan was killed years ago. You may have heard of the seven civilians were murdered by Sound, which promptly led Konoha to increase their efforts to subdue Orochimaru. After my Otousan was murdered, I decided that I never wanted another important person to me die and wanted to protect my precious people."

Itachi looked at Sakura. Her eyes were downcast, obviously thinking of her Otousan. He knew Sakura's father died many years ago. He also knew of the accident between Sound and Konoha. After Orochimaru defected from the village, there were many rumors circulating that he had created his own village. Despite the many rumors, Konoha could never find concrete proof that Orochimaru was the leader of his own village. When seven Konoha civilian were brutally murdered by clearly Sound nin, Konoha started taking steps to eliminate the nukenin. The act of killing Konoha civilians was Orochimaru's first action of 'coming out' and letting all nations know the creation of Otogakure.

It was unfortunate. Rotten luck almost. The death of Sakura's father was completely beyond anyone's control. Konoha was not expecting an attack from a village that they did not know existed. It was a little sad that Sakura choose the shinobi path based on Orochimaru's doing. Itachi did not like that fact at all. He hated Orochimaru, completely despised the Sannin for abandoning Konoha and posing as a dangerous threat towards the village he loved. He hated Orochimaru for giving Sasuke the curse seal and tempting his Oni to defect Konoha under false pretenses of gaining control of the curse seal. Now Itachi completely abhorred the snake Sannin for the death of Sakura's father.

"So why?" Sakura asked, breaking a string of silence between them. The sadness that was displayed in her eyes before vanished and was replaced with a hint of curiosity and mischief.

Itachi closed his eyes and reminded himself that he was playing a game with the minx. Sakura's seemingly innocent question had many personal undertones. It was true, if he had a choice of being born as the Uchiha heir, he would decline the offer. "The responsibility of being the heir can be overwhelming."

Sakura's face dropped. She glared at him when he refused to elaborate the vague answer. "That's all you're going to say? I poured my heart out to you," Sakura pouted as crossed her arms. "You know, being around you is overwhelming." Sakura leaned back in the booth and stared at him enticingly. She was setting a trap for him to be caught in. She was waving a challenge right in his face and waiting for him to fall bait. The little twinkle in her eyes only served as proof.

"Responsibility is heavy," Itachi said. The twinkle in her ivy eyes disappeared. She was obviously waiting for him to smoothly rebuke her teasing comment. She was not expecting him to elaborate. Now she was caught of guard. "There are many things that a heir is automatically responsible for."

Sakura looked at Itachi. He was right. She knew clan heirs carried the responsibility of the whole clan on their shoulders. Sakura watched Hinata beat herself up for years trying to be the clan heir her father deemed necessary. Itachi did not need to say more. The look on his face said everything. He was not fond of the responsibility that was assigned to him upon birth.

She decided that she did not like the look on Itachi's face. Itachi's dislike for his role angered her, not because he disliked his heir status but because he had no choice in the matter. He was heir. That was it. He did not control which family he was born to or whether he was the first or second child. All this time, Sakura always felt sorry for Sasuke for being compared to Itachi and growing up in Itachi's shadows, but now she felt sorry for Itachi to assume a role he did not want. Never did Sakura think that Itachi did not want to be heir. She always assumed that he enjoyed that status, especially knowing how much Sasuke respected Itachi as an heir.

He would never say it out loud. Sakura knew it. Itachi would never condemn his status within the Uchiha clan. He would never brig up his dissatisfaction about being heir. He would obey every order diligently without question. But he did not want to be heir. The look on his face was so obvious. Itachi did not want to hold the responsibility of being the Uchiha heir. Sakura knew of the tensions between the Uchiha clan and Konoha elders. She heard Tsunade and Shizune discussing the animosity a few years back. Sakura thought nothing of it at the time because the topic never came to surface and Sasuke showed no signs of distress. But everything made sense now.

She and Sasuke were younger, but Itachi must have been old enough to heavily be involved in the affair. Sakura knew Itachi hated conflict and tension and how much he loved Konoha. The pinkette could easily see the strain it must have caused him to be the bridge between the two sides. If it came between choosing the Uchiha clan and choosing Konoha, Sakura had no idea which side Itachi would align with. Itachi did not want to be responsible for weight of the Uchiha clan.

Sakura observed Itachi. His posture was tense – her medical training allowed her to easily detect the tension in his shoulders and his jaw. His beautiful dark eyes were heavy and his pale skin turned sickly white. It was the first time where Sakura noticed the stress lines on his normally smooth forehead. The deep lines under his eyes that seemed to disappear when they woke this morning suddenly appeared. They made him look years older than he really was.

Sakura reached out and grabbed his hand, which was supporting his chin. She held it tightly as if he would disappear if she loosened her grip. Itachi told her something that he probably never told anyone before. "Glad I'm not a heir," Sakura joked with a faint smile. Itachi's lips turned upwards slightly as she felt him return her grasp.

She smiled at him, trying to bring some kind of comfort. He was overworked – as an heir and shinobi. She doubted Itachi liked either. He was a pacifist at heart. "Why did you become a shinobi?"

"I had no choice," Itachi stated, "That was two questions Sakura."

He had no choice? Sakura was confused. Of course he had a choice. Everybody has a choice. Then Itachi's words hit her. He must have been forced to be a shinobi from a very young age. He was gifted. Konoha and Uchiha elders must have noticed his gift and started crafting him at a very young age to be the impeccable shinobi and heir. He had no choice. He could speak out and express his distaste but that would not make him Itachi. Itachi followed. He would swallow his pride for his village and clansmen.

It made Sakura feel strangely irritated. It was like they were in the hospital room all over again with her threatening to fail his psyche exam so he could feel some kind of relief for his exhaustion. No one, no matter who they were or what position they held, should be under this much stress. It was as if he were a robot. He lived a life for everyone but him. It was not fair.

Sakura swallowed her bitterness and smiled sheepishly. "Now you get to ask me two questions."

She felt Itachi's searching gaze upon her but continued smiling and hoped he did not see through the fakeness. "What is your favorite color?"

Sakura looked up at Itachi startled. Of all the things he could ask, he asked something so simple and mundane. After a moment of confusion, a smile crept onto Sakura's face. "Definitely not pink, contrary to popular belief. Just because my hair is pink, it does not mean my favorite color is pink. My favorite color is white. I know, weird. Ino went on and on about how weird it makes me that white is my favorite color. I don't know why white is my favorite but it just is," Sakura ranted.

Itachi stared at Sakura, listening to every word that escaped her mouth. White. It suited her. Pure and unblemished. It was only apropos white was her favorite color. He continued to ask her silly questions and she asked even doltish questions – '_if you were invisible for a day, who would you spy on'_ or '_which animal would you transform into if you had a choice'_. He would spy on nobody, as spying was an invasion of privacy – Sakura was sure to quickly and cleverly state that he spied for the village and it was still considered spying – and he would transform into hawk. Her questions were random and foolish. But he liked it. He liked the carelessness. Her bitter countenance from before was nearly forgotten.

He wanted to stay and continue their frivolous question-asking-game but he was required to meet with the hokage. Itachi excused himself from the their 'date' and left, paying for their meal. He almost felt nostalgic leaving Sakura but pushed that feeling aside. He was going to discuss the Akatsuki with the Sandaime. He had to focus, and Sakura only blurred his thoughts.

Sakura watched Itachi leave their café. She sat at the table for a good five minutes smiling like a goofball. Sakura almost wanted to pinch herself to make sure this was really reality. Itachi. He was perfect in every way shape and form. It was a pity no one knew the side of him he showed her today.

With a long sigh, Sakura finally stood up, bundled up in her coat, and left Iro's. She was no longer falling for the Uchiha. She already fell. She fell hard and fast and only now did Sakura realize how strong her feelings for Itachi were. A part of her scoffed at how stereotypically pathetic she was at the moment – a little, naïve girl falling for a boy who she secretly knew was bad for her. Itachi was not bad for her. Actually, Sakura did not know if he was bad for her. All she knew was that she fell for him.

"Ahh, getting lost on the road of life."

Sakura broke free from her daze and looked around for the familiar voice. Her eyes searched right and left, but after spotting no one, she scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. A chuckle brought the pinkette's attention to the tree above her head. Sakura smiled at the sight.

Kakashi-sensei sat lazily on a tree branch in his standard jounin outfit waving softly. The annoying, perverted orange smut novel was in his hands. She swore at least a hundred times a day to herself that she was going to burn all his trashy novels one day. It was the only threat that kept her sensei in line.

"Kakashi-sensei," Sakura beamed. It was almost a month since she last saw her sensei. It was a while since team seven trained or went on a mission together. Ever since she started joining team eleven on missions, Kakashi started going on more solo missions, usually tracking missions. Sakura did not like when Kakashi accepted solo missions. It nerved her.

"You're making me sound old," Kakashi gently chided and feigned hurt.

Sakura scoffed. "You are old, sensei." According to shinobi years, Kakashi was considered a grandpa.

"Enjoyed your date?" Kakashi asked innocently – almost too innocently to be considered normal.

Sakura tried not to visibly choke and seem fine. She knew Kakashi saw right through her. Kakashi knew everything. His keenness did not surprise her anymore. She could not deny that she was with Itachi before. Kakashi probably saw them together. "It was not a date," Sakura stated as she started walking away. The last thing she needed right now was Kakashi's shrewd ability to see through the surface.

"Ok, whatever you say Sakura-chan," Kakashi said with a surgery voice and waved bye. Sakura narrowed her eyes at his voice and internally groaned. Kakashi was going to be on her and Itachi's backs now. There was no she-and-Itachi, so there was no reason for Kakashi to be suspicious. Right? A groan left Sakura's lips. What were she and Itachi?

It was only after numerous inner battles and turmoil was Sakura able to admit that she had feelings for Itachi. When she did conclude that her feelings for him were not going anywhere did Sakura realize that she did not just have feelings for him, she completely and utterly fell for him. There was no backing out now. Her feelings were not going anywhere.

Sakura wondered what she should do with those accepted feelings. Should she tell Itachi? Absolutely not. She did not know how he felt about her. Yes, Itachi was warming up to her. But there was no way that his feelings for her were anywhere as strong as her feelings for him. Sakura quite literally stopped walking in the middle of the street. All this time she was thinking about herself. She never gave Itachi's feelings for her a second thought. Did he feel anything for her?

The pinkette felt like a twelve-year-old schoolgirl again. She liked Itachi. Itachi did not like her. There was no way he liked her. He started trusting her more deeply and began opening up but he did not like her the way she liked him. This was going to be Sasuke all over again except this time she would hurt more. Sakura did not lose Sasuke but she had an eerie feeling that if her emotions got the better of her and she did something stupid around Itachi, their fragile relationship would be irreparable.

What was she supposed to do now? How many times could they go on '_dates'_ before Sakura would explode with heartbreak? Sakura was so caught up in her thoughts that she did not notice her standing in front of her house or her dear neighbor smiling wickedly at her.

"Boy problems?"

Sakura choked and turned to stare wide-eyed at a smirking old lady. "Hira!" Sakura gasped.

Over the years, Hira became a grandmother figure to Sakura. Sakura would have dinner with Hira and Hira would try to teach the pinkette how to cook – as Hira gave up teaching the medic how to make an edible meal after Sakura nearly burned her face off. Hira would share stories of her past and provide comfort to the pinkette whenever Sakura would miss her Okaasan.

Hira saw Sakura as her family. Her husband passed away a few months before Sakura's Okaasan passed away. The two provided each other comfort with their losses. Sakura father had passed away years before her mother and Hira never had any children. They were family. They would celebrate holidays together and keep up with their familial traditions. She never wanted Sakura to feel alone. The rose-haired beauty was too young to be forced to experience the loneliness caused by the death of ones parents.

"I don't have boy problems," Sakura stated. Hira narrowed her eyes when pinkette scrunched her nose. She was lying. Sakura was the worst liar in the village.

Hira sighed. She knew Sakura maybe even more than Sakura knew herself. Denial was a terrible feeling. "Come inside, let's have warm tea and talk about that Uchiha boy you were with."

Sakura's jaw dropped. Did everyone know where she and Itachi were? Sakura wanted to politely decline Hira's offer, but she knew if she did not follow the elderly inside her home, Hira would pulled Sakura by her ear into her home. Sakura stepped off of her doorstep and followed Hira into her home.

Hira's home was more colorful than Sakura's home. Whereas Sakura had shelves of books on her walls, Hira had an infinite number of paintings hung and numerous houseplants everywhere. Naruto and Hira were gardening buddies if Sakura recalled correctly – Naruto was strangely a gardener and was quite good at taking care of his plants. Sakura was convinced that Hira was a hippie in her younger days. There were pictures everywhere – pictures of her husband, of her friends, of places. Hira was an avid traveler, although she could rarely travel to exotic places anymore to her age. Sakura would always try to bring back souvenirs for Hira whenever she went to foreign places on missions.

Sakura walked behind Hira into her kitchen, which was always overfilling with food. It was a complete contrast to Sakura's pathetically empty kitchen. The pinkette sat on the counter top as Hira quickly began making tea. The old woman said nothing, heightening Sakura's nervousness. This was a strategy. Tsunade used it all the time, at least whenever she did not demand it out of Sakura. Hira obviously wanted Sakura to talk, and by not asking the questions Sakura knew she wanted to ask, Hira believed Sakura's resistance would break by remaining silent.

Ivy eyes followed Hira's every movement suspiciously. Hira played this strategy before… and won every time. Sakura's mouth had no self-control around Hira. Her elderly neighbor was smart and cunning and used her frail appearance to her every advantage. She should not say anything, she should not say anything, she should not say anything…

"I don't know what to do?" Sakura groaned.

Hira smiled. All she had to do was keep quiet for five minutes and Sakura would start spilling all her heart. Sakura was the only family Hira decided she had left. Hiro and her decided not to have children. Sometimes she regretted not having children when the house was eerie silent. But Sakura replaced the void in her heart. The pinkette was her family. She promised Sakura's mother that she would take care of Sakura if she was not there. Hira never imagined she would have to uphold the young Haruno mother word so early.

"How did you and Hiro meet again?" Sakura asked. Hira probably told Sakura this story at least a thousand times but the pinkette always continued to ask.

Hira turned as gave Sakura a crinkled smile. "Well, back in the day when I still had blonde hair," Hira have a small chuckle, "Hiro was my neighbor. He lived right next door and our mothers were the best of friends – that's where the brilliant idea of naming their children 'Hiro' and 'Hira' came from. I grew up with him. When we were little children, umm around five, six years old, I was a very uptight, girly know-it-all and Hiro was a quiet and shy nerd. Haha. He had these really thick glasses that covered half his face."

Sakura smiled at Hira's expression. Whenever Hira would recall memories of Hiro, her face would instantly light up with so much emotion. It was so clear that she loved him, even after he was long gone. "Anyways, years pass and I still paid no attention to him. I had boys flocking everywhere around me, and trust me, there was a good reason why," Hira winked as Sakura rolled her eyes. All the blondes in Sakura's life were crazy, although Hira's blonde locks were white now.

"I had the most luscious, long blonde hair and rather nice buxom for my age if you ask me," Hira laughed as she elbowed Sakura. "I never gave Hiro a second look. After he joined the Ninja Academy, he rarely was even around. I was a little surprised to find out that a wimpy and shy little kid like Hiro chose to become a shinobi, but I never really gave it much thought.

"So for years I don't see him, maybe I would catch a quick glimpse but he was always really busy studying or training. Hiro's Okaasan would frequently come over to my house and chat with my Okaasan and I would always hear little snip-bits of his life – like how he was promoted to jounin and how he was apparently really tall. I think I still saw him as the little five year old so I never made an effort to see him. But Hiro's Okaasan mentioned once that he broke up with his girlfriend of four years. She wanted to settle down and he didn't.

"We were twenty-one, I believe, when I first laid my eyes onto him and actually saw his growth." Hira brought a hand to her cheek as Sakura smiled at the enamored woman. "I just knew it. In that moment I just knew that Hiro was the one I was going to spend the rest of my life with. I don't know if he felt the same – actually he did not feel the same at first. Haha! That baka made me chase after him for a good year before he would go on an actual date with me. A whole year Sakura!"

Hira brought her eyes back to Sakura. "He was worth the chase, Sakura. He was worth the chase."

Dark brown eyes observed Sakura, who was looking intently at her lap. The pinkette was obviously deep in thought. It was that Uchiha boy. Hira knew it. Sakura groaned and dropped her shoulders. "Am I going to have to chase him?" Sakura asked. Yes, she followed Sasuke around when they were younger but she was still a girl who wanted a boy to chase after her.

"Or you can make him chase you," Hira winked as Sakura snorted.

"Pft, Itachi chases no one. People come to him. Hira, I don't even know if he feels the same way I do. How can I make him chase me when he doesn't see me in any romantic way."

Ah, Itachi was the young fellow's name. It seemed that Sakura did not notice her little slipup. Hira smiled. Sakura always underestimated herself. The pinkette always underrated her value and importance. She was a walking goddess – beautiful and talented in almost everything. Sakura did not see how the male population would always take second and third glances her way. She did not see how she would bring a smile to peoples' faces whenever her sweet tone would reach their ears. Even her mere presence brought relief and delight to the grumpiest soul. Sakura was blind of the power she held over people. Extremely blind and stupid.

"Sakura, you have to make him chase you."

"How do I do that? Steal his shampoo?" Sakura asked with confused big eyes. How was she supposed to get the Prince of Darkness to chase her? It was easier traveling to Suna upside-down with your eyes closed in one day than getting Itachi to start chasing her, and traveling to Suna under such conditions was near impossible.

Hira exaggerated her sigh. The blind, pink fool was going to get nowhere in life with that kind of reasoning. "It's not impossible. Now shoo, and go wrap Itachi around your finger."

Sakura opened her mouth to rebuke but only a yelp escaped when she felt Hira pushing her out the kitchen and to her front door. The pinkette barely had time to grab her coat before Hira completely pushed her into the cold, frosty outside. Hira might have been in her eighties but the old woman was strong. Looks were deceiving.

The pinkette walked over to her home only more confused than before. Hiro died a few weeks after her own Otousan died. Sakura did not remember much about Hiro but she remembered he would always buy Hira a bouquet of dozen flowers every Friday. Maybe Hiro was the reason why Sakura had unrealistic expectations of the male population at such a young age. She grew up with male who made chocolate from scratch and wrote love notes for the woman he loved. Sakura sighed. Hiro destroyed her.

* * *

><p>Itachi closed his eyes. Finally. He spent the entire morning with Sakura. After he left Sakura in the café, his day went downhill. The meeting with the hokage went on for longer than he expected but he was not surprised. Bringing two Akatsuki members down was going to have great repercussions. The Akatsuki were bound to retaliate. They were down two members and were obviously going to be scouting for new members to replaced Hidan and Kakuzu or even quickening their hunt for the rest of the jinchuriki.<p>

Konoha had to finish the Akatsuki before the organization could make any big moves. The Sandaime mentioned trying to convince Suna and other villages to join forces to bring down the Akatsuki once and for all. The Kazekage would most likely help, although other Kages would no doubt be a little more hesitant to help out, but the Sandaime was positive that he could convince the other Kages to pursue the Akatsuki. The Sarutobi hokage was planning on calling a meeting with all the Kages to discuss the Akatsuki and the upcoming chunin exams.

He spent the entire afternoon with ANBU, planning out the security details of escorting the hokage if such Kage meeting was to occur. Kage meetings rarely happened but when they did, it was a big deal when it came to planning such event. When and where the meetings were to be held were always kept a secret to make sure the information did not reach the wrong ears. Each Kage brought his or her security and team of councils. Itachi often wondered that the whole ordeal would be much less of a hassle if it were only the Kages meeting together for discussion, rather than bringing their whole entourage.

Itachi preferred to be completing an actual mission, but he knew as a Konoha nin, one of his primary duty was to protect the hokage as well as the village. He knew the Sandaime, even his old age, could protect himself. In Itachi's honest opinion, it was a waste of shinobi power. Kage meetings were more for a publicity show than an actual productive meeting.

The Uchiha heir let his head drop on his pillow and a sigh of relief escape his lips. He was back in his room at the Uchiha compound. His Okaasan was the only one who was home when Itachi walked into his house. She was glad to finally see him after months at the border. Otousan was not home; he was at the Police Station taking care of some business that Itachi had no interest in finding out. Sasuke just left on a solo mission two nights before. The house was unnaturally quiet of the usual chakra presences.

He did not realize that he was this tired. He slept well. Better than well. If he tried hard enough, he could still smell Sakura's fruity shampoo on him. Her scent was stronger before. It served as a thorough distraction earlier in the day during the meetings. His mind would always wander to her soft rose hair and her ivy, big eyes. He would hear random flashes of her laugh and see random images of her smile. She was a distraction.

Itachi had no idea when Sakura got trapped in his head but now she would not leave. He did not know how to get her out. He did not know if he wanted her out. It pissed him off. His whole life was running smoothly. No, it was not the perfect life or the life he completely wanted, but it was the life he was going to live. But the talented medic with ridiculous hair came out of nowhere and started challenging his accepted life path. He started wanting more than he knew was going to be given.

Solider. That was what he was. He was a tool for the village. Almost like a protector – if he wanted to flatter himself with the term. He was like any other shinobi – he followed orders and executed missions for the benefit of the village. It was always for the benefit of the village. Everything he did was for the village. For Sasuke.

He loved his clan. He loved their history and their culture, but he did not share their thirst for power. A part of Itachi knew that he failed his clan by siding with the village, but he tried. He used his best judgment to protect his clan, even if he knew the clan elders would disapprove of his tactics. Itachi knew that he could not protect both. He had to protect either his clan or the entirety of Konoha. He chose Konoha.

It was never about him. It was about the village. He – his body, his skills, his talent – was a sacrifice for village. He never thought about himself. At least until now he did not. And it was all Sakura's fault. Last night by going to Sakura's, it was the first time he put his feelings and wants before anything. He wanted comfort and Sakura provided him a layer of solace. He wanted a lot of things that he did not have but knew he could not have them because of the burden on his back.

He did not know where his feelings for Sakura were going, but he had an eerie feeling that there was not going to be a happy ending. In fact, he knew there was not going to be a happy ending. He was being selfish. He was luring Sakura to him while he knew that it did not matter in the end. They could not be together. His feelings for her were wrong. He had to stop. He was to walking into and ditch and pulling Sakura with him. She deserved someone who would be able to give her more than what he could give her.

But the thought of Sakura with another man left a bitter taste in his mouth. The thought of her holding hands with someone else, sharing experiences with someone else, making love with someone else made him growl with unknown anger. Itachi did not realize that his fists were clenched until the pain finally made him loosen his fists.

Itachi would be lying if he said he did not think of the pinkette in a sexual way. She was a very physically attractive female – as the male population in Konoha would readily agree. It almost disgusted him that he was thinking of the innocent medic in such a carnal way. He tried not to but his attention would always fall on those full lips or her tight pants that would outline her shapely legs. All he would want in those moments was for her to wrap her legs around his waste and let him have his way with her. But he was not an animal. He would never throw her against the wall and do whatever he pleased. He would hold his urges and resist her temptation. He had to.

A rather frustrated sigh left his lips. She deserved someone better than him but he wanted her. If he was going to let her go, he had to finally admit his growing feelings for her. He wanted her. Itachi admitted it. He did not know when or where he started wanting her but he wanted this morning to be his every morning. He wanted to have pointless conversations with her. He wanted to have meaningless banter and find out the little things that Sakura liked. He wanted to know why she liked her coffee a certain way or why she preferred those tall, black boots to standard ninja shoes. It was foolish to think that he would come to a point where he would know answers to all those questions.

Itachi was going to take control of his feelings again. Control was a necessity in life. He knew it was a little unhealthy of the amount of control he needed but it made sure he did not accidently slip up. Whenever Sakura entered his head, he lost the reigns of control but he was going to regain the ropes that held everything together. He had no other choice.

Maybe if he were another man in another world, he would let Sakura control the ropes. He would be just a man and she would be just a woman. He would loosen his carnal urges for the pinkette. He would accept that she could be his and only his. They could continue the path they were on and explore what future relationship was possible. But he was not another man in another world. This was his reality. He could not have Sakura and Sakura could not have him. This was the truth.

How dependant was he on her? She was her own person. Sakura did not want him. If she knew exactly the type of person he was, she would not want him. Itachi was sure of it. She would be completely disgusted at the man he was. Sometimes he was disgusted at the man he was. Itachi sighed again before closing his eyes and forced thoughts of Sakura out of his mind.

He still saw ivy eyes staring back at him. What if they were together? Itachi knew that despite an unhappy ending, there was a possibility of them being together if he continued to walk down this path. He could wake up next to her every morning. He could make love to her whenever he wanted. But he could not walk down that path because it would ruin his carefully planned tracks. Sakura would ruin him.

She was still the last face he saw before unconscious pulled him into darkness.

* * *

><p><em>Take words out of my mouth<em>

_Just from breathing._

-Ed Sheeran "Drunk"

* * *

><p><strong>Hello all! Long time, no update! Haha. College finally started and I'm almost a month in (I think I'm more than a month in – I'm way too tired and way too sick to calculate how long it's actually been). I moved in a little early to help with orientation and during those two weeks I barely even touched my computer. <strong>

**Classes have begun, and I have bittersweet feelings about that. I love college but I hate waking up for an 8:30 class, ughhh. The internship is going great. Everything's a little overwhelming but I have everything under control…. So far… I hope.**

**This chapter is actually the shortest chapter to date, minus the prologue. I was going to add more scenes but I think Itachi falling asleep with Sakura in his thoughts was a good ending. Sorry if there are any mistakes – I literally posted this as soon as I finished writing my author's notes.**

**This chapter was really hard to write. I did love writing the ItaSaku fluff. This chapter is more like a filler chapter, nothing really major happens here. Itachi's realizations in this chapter will effect Itachi's actions in the future and Sakura is just continuing to fall for our favorite dark haired Uchiha.**

**I love everyone's sweet comments, I'm so touched by them. Again, I want to hear your predictions for the future. What do you all think will happen? What will Itachi do? Haha, when in doubt, just ask what will Itachi do?**

**Until next time.**

**-im-rite-here**


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